Solitary Dragon
by Ephemeral Quintessence
Summary: For a few months Wufei has worked with the preventers. He's seems fine with how his job is going, but his thoughts continue to dwell on the past. Sally Poe, in an attempt to cheer him, builds a list of his clansmen who survived the war, and there's one na
1. Default Chapter

Wufei looked around his office for something to do. He had finished his report for the day, and all the extra paperwork was done, and he still had over an hour left on his shift.  
  
He decided the only thing he could do to keep from being restless was meditate. Not so deeply that he wouldn't hear a call, but deep enough to let his mind and body relax.  
  
Setting his chair to the side of the room and sitting himself in a meditative possition, Wufei began concentrating on his inner self, his mind, his thoughts flowing, his heart, blood pumping, his lungs, air circulating, and slowly he sank, deeper, deeper into his meditation.  
  
"Wufei." the voice of Major Sally Po said, her face appearing on his screen.  
  
Trying not to let his irritation slip into his voice, he opened his eyes and responded.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Something's just come in, some information that may mean somthing to you." She said. Wufei noted that she seemed to be exited about whatever that information was.  
  
"I'll be right there." he said as he stood up. Turning off his screen, he put his chair back at his desk and headed for Major Sally's office.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"You know about the collection of all residence records of all the colonies, correct?" Sally asked.  
  
"Yes, I helped out on that particular job a few weeks ago." Wufei said. *She knows that, so why is she beating around the bush!?!* he wondered.  
  
"What's your point?" he demanded, not wanting to waste time with small talk.  
  
*Same old Wufei, some things about him will just never change.* Sally thought with a small smile.  
  
"Well, it seems that not all of the people from your colony, your clan, are gone. Some have turned up on other L5 colonies, and even one or two on earth in the last couple of years." Sally reported, knowing reguardless of rank, Wufei would start ranting if she put him off any longer.  
  
Wufei just glared at her.  
  
"I knew that, some of my clansmen had been away at the time of the colony's destruction. I've met with them, I know they're out there. What kind of news is this!?!" He demanded.  
  
Sally sighed, she had hoped that it would go over better than this.  
  
"I had hoped that this would be better news for you. Reguardless, " She said pulling out a list and handing it to him, "These are the clan members that we located and compiled, who knows, maybe there are some names there that you don't know about." She said giving a weak smile. Wufei just rolled his eyes and left her office.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Back in his office, Wufei looked distainfully at the piece of paper in his hand.  
  
"Baka onna, thinks she can make the destruction of my colony and people any better by putting together a list of names and addresses. Ha!" He muttered bitterly and sat rigidly in his chair. There was truely only one name that would have made any difference to him at all. And he knew that name wasn't going to be there, for that person, that woman, had died in his arms.  
  
Slamming the list angrily on his desk, he grabbed his jacket and stormed out the door.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei returned to his office 10 minutes before the end of his shift, much calmer than when he left, but still nowhere near completely calm. Deciding that Major Sally had gone to alot of trouble for his sake, and that it would be unjust to not even look at her list, he picked up the paper, and tried to look over it and stay calm.  
  
That ended up being impossible. The moment he looked at the piece of paper, his whole world came down around him.  
  
Hours later Sally checked her phone and found a recorded message. She opened it, and a very busy Wufei popped up on her phone screen.  
  
"Major Sally, I didn't think so at first, but the list you gave me does have some names on it that I hadn't known about." His voice played as he moved about his office grabbing his laptop, a few printed documents, and a travel bag.  
  
"As you can most likely tell, the names that I didn't know about are a little more than important, and I feel I must go and check them out immediately." he continued, packing the papers, laptop and his preventer's jacket, passport, and other travel papers into the bag.  
  
"I thank you for my possition with the preventers the last few months, but I believe it probably wasn't going to be a permanent position as things were reguardless. Perhaps if I return things will be different. Farewell." he said, grabbing a trench coat from his closet, putting it on, grabbing his bag, and shutting off the message recorder.  
  
"Well, what d'ya know..." Sally said in wonder. Shaking her head and smiling, she went back to her paperwork. 


	2. Solitary Dragon

The bus station was almost too clean to be a public transit station. Looking around, Wufei walked up to the ticket booth.  
  
"One ticket, Beijing, China. One way."  
  
"Ok! Bus leaves in 10 minutes from gate 7!" the overly cheery attendant quipped and passed him his bus ticket.  
  
"Have a nice trip!" the attendant cried after Wufei as he walked away.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Dead eyes stared out the window at the passing scenery without seeing any of it. The only sight in Wufei's mind was the impossible presence of one typed name on a list he had thought worthless until he'd seen it there.  
  
Chang Meiran, Beijing, China, Earth.  
  
That name he had known, respected, and eventually even loved. Then, the person, and the name had died.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
He carried her in his arms, gently, carefully. She was surprizingly light.  
  
He looked down at her as he walked. Laying there in his embrace, she seemed to fit, to belong there, as though his arms had been made only to hold her.  
  
Comming to the crest of the hill, he sat down among the flowers and set her down beside him.  
  
"Was I strong enough?" She asked suddenly, looking up at him, her head barely resting on his arm.  
  
"Were you ashamed of me as your wife? Was I too weak?" she pressed.  
  
*How can she think she was weak!?!* His mind demanded, but from the way she looked at him, he knew she was asking him that question seriously. He felt insane with guilt, had his constant questioning of her beliefs made her doubt her own strength?  
  
"No, " he told her softly, "you are strong, stronger than anyone." *Stronger than me.*  
  
She gave a smile and turned her headto look out at the flowers she had fought to protect and said to him softly, and with the last of her strength, "No...you are...stronger..."  
  
Her head lolled, and fell against his shoulder.  
  
"Hey, get off." he said, turning and facing himself towards her. Her body slumped into his arms.  
  
"Wake up!" He cried, shaking her lightly.  
  
"NO!!! You can't die! Come back Meiran, I haven't proven myself worthy of being your husband yet!!!" Frantically he started shaking her harder, glistening wet droplets tracing their way down his face.  
  
"NATAKU!!!" He practically screemed, loneliness and despair welling up within him.  
  
"Don't leave me here alone..." he wispered into her glossy black hair as he held her close and rocked back and forth until he lost track of time. He didn't even notice when it started raining.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
Wufei looked at the time, it was almost an hour until he would arrive in Beijing, and he wondered what he would find there.  
  
He didn't know how much time he had spent rocking back and forth on the hill, but he did remember Laoshi O comming and taking Meiran's body out of his arms. The next time that he could think straight, most likely hours later, he went and arranged for Meiran's funeral. He had to fight the elders to be able to have her burried in the field of flowers as she had requested.  
  
He went to the funeral. He paid his respects to Meiran's parents, who could only weep, but he didn't shed a tear. Laoshi O approached him and had asked if he didn't miss his wife, if he hadn't cared enough for her to cry that she was gone.  
  
He had merely stared at the headstone. He had already cried, and after that, he would cry no more.  
  
The bus came to a stop.  
  
Wufei stood, walked off the bus, and left the station.  
  
Outside he could only gaze about himself in wonder. This was truely his homeland, where his people had originated. Losing himself for a moment, he smiled.  
  
Hearing the other passengers starting to exit the station he put his regular expression back on and headed for a hotel. Once he was settled in, he would go out looking for the address on the list, and the owner of the name, Chang Meiran.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Walking up the hotel steps, Wufei entered the building and approached the front desk.  
  
The man at the desk looked up and smiled.  
  
"How can I help you sir?"  
  
"I need a single room, I'm not sure for how long." Wufei stated glancing at his surroundings. There was a large room to the left of the front desk, either a conference room or a dinning room. Just to the right of the front desk was a hall with an elevator and a stairwell at the end. Further to the right was a bar and lounge.  
  
"Alright, room 217, second floor." The man said, producing a key.  
  
"Have a nice stay!" He said as Wufei grabbed the offered key and headed down the hall.  
  
Taking the stairs, Wufei came to the second floor and found his room half way down the hall on the right.  
  
Opening the door he found an average room. Small bathroom, single bed, side table, dresser, and large double windows facing the street.  
  
Setting his bag down on the bed and shutting the door, Wufei looked over to the windows and parted the curtains.  
  
Looking over the capital of his true homeland Wufei started to feel proud that he was at his home. Instantly he felt guilty. A0206 had been his home. His homeland and various world powers had been afraid of his clan. They had been deported to an aging colony that the earth hadn't expected would be able to support them.  
  
It had though. The OZ had come and decided that they were worthless, and they had destroyed the colony themselves.  
  
Angrily he turned from the windows and put away what small amout of things he had taken with him.  
  
Pocketing his key, Wufei locked the door and decided to become familiar with the city. 


	3. Solitary Dragon

An hour later Wufei had an overall idea of the layout of the city in a one mile radius around his hotel.  
  
On his way back to the hotel he passed a bakery. Feeling hungry for the first time since his departer for China hours earlier, he decided to pick up something to eat.  
  
Stepping through the door Wufei was assaulted by the pleasant smell of baked goods. Moving slowly towards the back, eyeing the shelves of loaves and pasteries along the way, he was suddenly jolted as he collided with another body.  
  
"Gomen nasai." he and the person both cried immediately. He and the other person, a girl he noticed, started to collect her items which were strewn accross the aisle in the collision.  
  
Wufei bent down to help her collet her things. As he reached for the last item his hand fell instead ontop of hers, and both immediately drew back. Quickly the girl grabbed the last item and stood, flashing Wufei a smile.  
  
"Arigato!" She cried as he looked up and got a glance at her face and she ran out the door.  
  
Wufei stood in the aisle stunned. Slowly he stood, then dashed to the door.  
  
Sticking his head out the door he scaned the street, but the girl was already gone.  
  
"Shimatta!!!" he cursed, stalking back towards his hotel, completely forgetting the fact that he still hadn't eaten.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Spending all afternoon on the computer, Wufei tried fruitlessly to find something on the Chang Meiran he was here to find, or the girl he had met in the bakery. He had a feeling that if the Meiran here in China was the same Meiran from all those years ago, then the girl he had seen in the bakery was indeed her.  
  
"Nothing!!! Not a god damned thing!!!" Wufei cursed, almost launching his laptop across the room. He had to sufice with slamming it onto the night table.  
  
Glancing at the clock, he noted it was already nearing 2am. Settling himself on the bed, he lay down, fully dressed, and fell asleep.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Sitting up, Wufei looked at the clock. Already 10:30, he quickly got out of bed and straightened his clothes. Walking to the window, he looked outside and found himself wondering where Meiran was.  
  
Spinning around suddenly as he felt something brush his face, he didn't see anything but a few strands of his own jet black hair falling in front of his eyes.  
  
"I've not left it loose since Meiran died...does this mean something?" he murmered to himself, tucking the wayward locks behind his ear.  
  
Sighing, Wufei walked to the bathroom, brushed his hair straight, and washed the sleep from his eyes. Comming out again, he changed into a clean pair of black jeans and a green shirt over one of his normal black tanktops. Grabbing a jacket from the hanger, he pulled it on and locked the door as he left.  
  
Heading out, he decided to just wander the streets until he could figure out what to do about his present situation.  
  
Street after street Wufei wandered deep in thought, until he couldn't have found his way back to his hotel, even if he had been paying attention to where he'd been going.  
  
Pondering how to get information on this Chang Meiran, and confirm exactly who she was, Wufei looked up to see the sun well on it's way to setting. Looking around, he noticed that the daytime travelers and shoppers were heading home for the day and the night time crowd was just starting to come out.  
  
Looking around, Wufei didn't see anything he might even have vaugely recognized.  
  
Cursing himself for being weak and unworthy and many other things, he kept walking, hoping to see something he recognized, or just anything to give him a clue as to which direction he should be giong in.  
  
Almost an hour later, it was dark, and Wufei was still at a loss as to where in the giant city-capitol he could be.  
  
Finally stopping, he leaned against a wall. Tired, angry, and hungry, he reminded himself ruefully that he hadn't eaten in almost two days.  
  
"Just great!" he exclaimed to himself sarcastically.  
  
"It would be even better if you weren't loitering around my establishment!" a woman's voice chided.  
  
"I am not loitering onna!!!" Wufei turned and retorted distainfully.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, you're just standing here, doing nothing! I should have known you weren't loitering either!!!" the grey haired owner of the voice spat sharply back in Wufei's face.  
  
"I'm on my way back to my hotel!!!" Wufei exclaimed, wanting nothing more at that moment than to be able to return to his room and sleep.  
  
The old woman raised an eyebrow in her sceptisism.  
  
"Oh really?" she asked suspicion apparent in her tone, "And where are you staying at then?"  
  
"The Blue Yan." Wufei sighed. *Why is this annoying onna pestering me, at least she's not Maxwell...*  
  
"You've got to be kidding, that's at the other end of the city!!! It's almost 3 hours away!!!" The old woman said knowledgebly.  
  
"Two hours......" Wufei repeated, almost slumping in defeat an exhaustion.  
  
"You mean you're really staying there?" she asked, staring at him in shock.  
  
"How did you ever get all the way over here on foot!?!"  
  
"I've been walking all day." Wufei responded dully, sinking into an exhausted stupor.  
  
"You poor thing!!! It looks lik you haven't had anything to eat in days either!" cried the old woman, swinging Wufei's arm over her shoulder and starting to drag him into her 'establishment', an independant resteraunt.  
  
"LET GO OF ME ONNA!!! WHAT DO YOU THING YOU ARE DOING!?!" Wufei cried, snapping out of his state and protesting loudly. Reguardless, he ended up inside. He couldn't find the strength to struggle, much, and the woman was surprizingly stronger than she appeared. 


	4. Solitary Dragon

Seated at a simple wooden table, Wufei was presented with many wonderful dishes.  
  
"How much do I owe you for all this?" he asked the old woman, looking at the array of food with something akin to disbelief.  
  
"Oh, no! I wouldn't dream of it! I was so rude. This is on the house." She responded with a smile and sat down, waiting for him to start eating.  
  
"My thanks, uh...?" Wufei started thanking her, but realized that she didn't even know her name.  
  
"I am Tsun-san." The old woman filled in kindly.  
  
"Thank you Tsun-san." Wufei said, taking the closest dish and started to eat.  
  
"Now that I think about it, I don't know your name either..." the old woman said thoughtfully as Wufei finished the bowl of soup he'd taken.  
  
"Mother, are you almost done for the night!?" a voice called from the upper floor. Wufei turned towards the voice, he could swear he knew it.  
  
A young woman of near the same age as Wufei came down the stairs and stopped short when she saw Wufei seated at the table.  
  
"Ah! Meiran!" The woman exclaimed happily.  
  
"Come and meet our guest!"  
  
*MEIRAN!?!* Wufei thought wide-eyed.  
  
"And just who is this guest of ours?" Meiran asked suspiciously, glaring at the black haired boy seated at the table with her mother.  
  
"Well, he was just about to introduce himself when you came down." Tsun-san said gently, indicating for her daughter to sit with them at the table. Meiran did so grudgingly.  
  
"So what is your name then!?!" she challenged, not bothering with any kind of pretenses.  
  
"My name," Wufei responded tartly, "Is Chang Wufei."  
  
Tsun-san gave a surprized gasp and turned to Meiran, who had a dangerous fire building in her eyes.  
  
"I didn't know you had any relatives lef"  
  
"LIAR!!!" Meiran yelled at Wufei, cutting her mother off, "YOU COWARDLY LIAR!!! WUFEI IS DEAD, YOU HEAR ME YOU LOWLY IMPOSTER!?! CHANG WUFEI IS DEAD!!!"  
  
"HOW CAN I BE DEAD WHEN I'M SITTING RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU ONNA!?!?!" Wufei retorted immediatly. This was something he hadn't expected at all, she thought he was dead!?! What in the universe was going on!?!  
  
"Don't you two look cute together! You're such a cute pair!" Tsun-san exclaimed stary eyed. Meiran and Wufei were unpleasantly reminded of a similar situation years ago.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~  
  
*A scholar! They're making me, the heir to the dragon clan, and it's strongest warrior, get married to a weakling scholar!!!!!!!*  
  
Meiran stormed towards the shrine, she saw her fiance and husband-to- be was already there.  
  
Dutifully she took her place beside the boy, but her defiant scoul remained etched into her features. It only got deeper as the ceremony went on.  
  
Finally, their hands were tied, sealing their union. Meiran almost yelled out loud when she heard on of the elders murmer to another about what a perfect match they were.  
  
Meiran and her new husband turned and faced each other, and were offically pronouced husband and wife. It shocked her to see that the boy was wearing a scoul almost identical to her own.  
  
*He didn't want this either...*  
  
"I never wanted this." Meiran stated to him quietly as they turned to stand together before their clan as husband and wife for the first time.  
  
"About as much as I." he responded.  
  
Ceremony over, the boy immediately disguarded his heavy ceremonial robes, glared at the congregation of elders and other clan members, and left.  
  
Meiran noted that he chose to wear the white Tang Dynasty robes as she watched him leave. Dropping her own headderss she merely frowned at the extent of the injustice done to her, and stalked away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*  
  
Meiran and Wufei sat at the table and glared across the wooded barrier at each other.  
  
"Whatever is the matter between you two?" Tsun-san questioned. She was used to the ranting and yelling on Meiran's part, but the deathly silent glaring was something she barely ever got mad enough to do.  
  
"I NEVER WANTED TO MARRY HIM/HER!!!!!!" Meiran and Wufei cried at the same time. 


	5. Solitary Dragon

Wufei grumbled as he stuffed his few belongings into his bag. Tsun- san had immediately insisted that he move in with Meiran and herself. How could he refuse? He hadn't really any grounds to, other than his imposing upon her, and she had quickly dismissed that escape. What was he to do? Say he didn't feel that it was proper to be living with his own wife?  
  
Thus he was stuck moving in with his wife, who still hated him, and liked it better when she thought he was dead, and her mother, who he was sure was just the tinyest bit mentally unbalanced.  
  
"Come on!" Meiran yelled from the door. She had accompanied him to get his things mostly because she didn't trust him, and partly because she wanted to see if he really could be her Wufei, the warrior for the colonies that she had come to respect and admire.  
  
"Come on Onna!!!" Wufei yelled. She yelled at him to hurry up, and now when he was done and ready to go, she was blocking the door, and ignoring him.  
  
"Baka..." Meiran muttered as she turned towards the stairs and headed out of the building.  
  
"What?" Wufei yelled.  
  
*Sharp ears* Meiran thought, and kept walking, ignoring his question.  
  
"Answer me Onna!!!"  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"This will be your room." Tsun-san said cheerily. She had been the only one excited about all the events of the last day. She had also been the one enforcing them all.  
  
"I know it's not a room with Meiran like a husband and wife should be, but she's just across the hall if you want to see her." She called as she decended the stairs.  
  
"NANI!?!" Wufei cried. *That old woman is impossible!* he thought to himself. Pushing the door open, he walked in and froze.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, ran out of the room, and stood, refusing to move from his possition pinned in shock to the wall.  
  
Downstairs, Tsun-san just smiled.  
  
"Nani? What's wrong!?!" Meiran cried, running out of the opposite door. She stopped and laughed when she saw Wufei and his condition.  
  
"I take it you saw your room..." She said, still smiling unbearably. Wufei managed to nod.  
  
"Don't feel bad, when I first came here, I had your room's twin, only in pink..." Meiran said and grimaced. Wufei cringed. Pink was the color Meiran despised the most in all of existance.  
  
"I managed to modify it suitably over the last few years, so now it's a bit better..." she said.  
  
"What is with that woman!?!" Wufei asked, regaining his voice.  
  
"She wanted kids, but..." Meiran started to explain, but stopped. The story held elements of truth to her own situation, and she almost felt shy telling it.  
  
"What? Is she incapable of having children? There are other ways, on L4 test tube children were common, and it's a much safer method." Wufei said, wondering why Tsun-san would let somthing so minor stop her from having children, all the while, not noticing that Meiran was begining to look very angry.  
  
"Iie baka!!!" she yelled. Meiran had always known him to be incensitive, but this was too much!  
  
"Tsun-san was from a very traditional family, another clan like ours, that held on to the old ways. Shw was married young according to those traditions. Because she was so young, she didn't think she wanted children that soon, or at all..."  
  
"Then what's with the rooms?"  
  
"BAKA!!! One day, she and her husband were out, and a street gang tried to mug them and abduct Tsun-san. Her husband stepped in and fended them off until she could escape, but he was killed doing so. She always regretted that she never had a child. She decided that she wanted a boy and a girl... Then she made the rooms for them..." Meiran gave a sigh and held back the saddness, she held much sympathy for her mother. She had often felt the same way, like she wished she'd had somthing of Wufei to remember him well, give honor to his memory.  
  
"Baka onna. What a foolish whim." Wufei said haughtly and stormed back into his room, and remembered too late what it looked like. This time he stayed in the room.  
  
"You are infuriating Chang Wufei!!!" Meiran cried, stalked back to her room, and slammed her door.  
  
Wufei stood and took in the chamber of horrors that was to be his prison cell. It was worse than he had thought from his first glance. The window seat had blue trim and frilly light blue curtains. The seat cushion was the same color. Blue framed pictures of beaches and forests hung on the sky and cloud patterned wallpaper. Blue painted shelves held dozens of toys and teddybears, and a babyblue toychest overflowed with the same contents. The closet door was a light powder blue, along with the bed, made with blue sheets, blankets, and pillows. Finally, the floor was covered wtih a thick pale blue carpet.  
  
Cursing at the injustice of such a place, Wufei threw down his bag and started working on the room. Taking down the curtains, he stuck them in the closet and did the same with his bed covers, sheets and pillow cases. Taking down the pictures and shelved toys and added them to the closet collection. Taking a deep breath, he took off his shirt, and in his jeans and tanktop, started carefully removing the wallpaper. Grimacing, he thought about the fact that even after he was done with the walls, he would still have to work on the floors.  
  
Hours later, Wufei came down the stairs, back in his shirt and wearing his jacket.  
  
"Where are you going?" Tsun-san asked as she spotted him heading for the door.  
  
"Out." Wufei stated flatly and was out the door.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"Where is that egotistical, pig-headed, husband-wanna-be of mine?" Meiran asked as she came down the stairs. She had knocked on his door, but there hadn't been anyone there.  
  
"He went out about 3 1/2 hours ago. I'm starting to wonder if he didn't get lost..." Tsun-san answered, giving a concerned glance towards Meiran.  
  
Just as she finished, the two heard the door, and Meiran peeked around the corner to see Wufei, laden down with bags and bags of books and other purchases.  
  
"Where have you been!?!" Meiran yelled. Wufei looked up and glared at her.  
  
"None of your business Onna!" he retorted and stormed up the stairs.  
  
"Jerk!!!" Meiran yelled up after him.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"Suppertime!!!" Tsun-san yelled as she finished setting the table.  
  
"Meiran! Wufei!" she yelled again when she got no immediate response.  
  
"I'm here!" Meiran said comming around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Where is that husband of yours?" she asked and started transporting the food to the table.  
  
Meiran made a face and started helping with the food.  
  
"I don't know where that gaki is, and I don't much care!" she stated sharply.  
  
"Would you go and get him dear?" Tsun-san asked, ignoring Meiran's tone.  
  
Giving an exasperated cry, Meiran stomped up the stairs and headed for Wufei's room.  
  
Throwing wide the door, Meiran prepared to launch into a tirade on how rude and inconsiderate he was being, but stopped short as her jaw hit the floor and she stared at Wufei's newly remade room in wonder and awe.  
  
The bed was now adorned with black silk sheets, and matching pillows, with red chinese dragons running over them. The window seat was now red cushioned, and the trim was painted the same color. The floor was bare hardwood, and the shelves were covered with all kinds of scholarly books. The closet door was entierly black, and all the toys and teddybears were gone, but the most amazing sight was the walls. Painted enterly black, they were covered with elaborate handpainted and intertwining red dragons.  
  
"Wow..." Meiran wispered in awe as her gaze fell upon the boy who had achieved the masterpiece before her in only a few mere hours.  
  
Wufei was lying on the bed not even undressed. His hair was loose and falling over part of his face.  
  
*He looks so sweet when he's asleep...* she thought as she gazed at his peaceful face.  
  
*Not at all like when he's awake...* she thought with a grimace, picturing his regular scoul.  
  
Shutting the door, she permitted herself a secret smile, and went back downstairs.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"So where is he?" Tsun-san asked as soon as Meiran got to the table.  
  
"He's sleeping." Meiran stated, returning to a straight face.  
  
"So early! I wouldn't have thought him as the lazy type..." Tsun-san commented.  
  
"He's not!.." Meiran burst out. Tsun-san only raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I...mean...he's had a rough couple of days...and he's just catching up on his sleep..." Meiran said and gave a forced laugh.  
  
Tsun-san only smiled, and the two of them ate their supper. 


	6. Solitary Dragon

"Wufei?" Meiran called, peeking in his door. The last few months, the two had become more civil, if not close, to each other.  
  
"Yes?" He answered, setting down his book. He had fallen back into his habit of loosing himself in books durring his long days with not much to do, living with two females, one who was his wife that he would more likely avoid or fight with than talk to, and the other was her insane adoptive mother. Sitting upright on the windowseat, which he had found to be the perfect place for reading, he wondered what could make her come to see him. Usually they avoided each other, accept for meals and coincidental meetings in the halls.  
  
Meiran slipped into the room and gently shut the door. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked shyly at him. She didn't know how he would react to her questions, but she had to know, and the only way to find out, was to ask him.  
  
Wufei looked at Meiran raising an eyebrow, her noted her nervousness, and wondered what she was about to say or do.  
  
"I have to ask you some questions..." She started hesitantly.  
  
Wufei looked scrutenizingly at her face as his expression darkened.  
  
*This might get ugly* he thought to himself.  
  
"First...why did you start calling the Shenlong Nataku? You were the one that named it Shenlong in the first place."  
  
"I...uh..." This wasn't what he'd been expecting.  
  
"Yes?" Meiran leaned forward, eager for the answer.  
  
"I named it for you." Wufei wispered, turning slightly red.  
  
"I thought your spirit was guiding me through Nataku." he blurted, getting redder.  
  
"I...oh." Meiran stuttered, starting to blush. That hadn't been the answer she had been expecting.  
  
*For me!?! But why? He was the stronger one...* she thought in confusion.  
  
Starring at her hands, she thought about her next question.  
  
"Why was I told that you had died?"  
  
Wufei gave an internal sigh of relief, this had actually been something he'd been thinking about, and not as akward a question as her first.  
  
"I suppose it was so you wouldn't try to contact me...They wanted me to fight, and when you died, I got my will to fight, I suppose that I may not have if you had still been alive, but that's over and done..." He answered, returning to his normal shade.  
  
"Alright, lastly, when we talked in the field, just before I died, did you mean the things you said?" she asked, looking up at him, eyes clear and completely serious.  
  
Wufei froze, this was something he REALLY hadn't expected. He thought back to the day he'd held her in his arms, the only time he'd ever gotten to hold her with any kind of gentlness, and started turning redder and redder.  
  
With a sigh for resolve, he looked up at her, straight into her eyes, and spoke in a clear and honest tone.  
  
"Yes...every word."  
  
Meiran stood quietly, holding his eyes with hers. As if hypnotized Wufei heard her socked feet as they padded closer and closer to him, then felt as two of her long delicate fingers gently took his chin and directed his lips to hers.  
  
Meiran straightened and turned away from him, walking towards the door. Opening the door and leaning on arm against the doorframe she looked back at him and smiled. Wufei gazed up at her, his hypnosis slowly wearing off.  
  
"Maybe I am stronger." she smiled and shut the door behind her.  
  
"You always were..." Wufei said softly as he sunk back against the cushions of the window seat and went back to his reading. 


	7. Solitary Dragon

"Meiran! Wufei! Breakfast!" Tsun-san called. She smiled, picturing the last half year in her head. The first few weeks had been pure chaos between the two, then they had seemed to mutually agree that it ws getting them nowhere. After that they had managed to tolerate each other. Then the supper incident occured, and Meiran became a bit softer towards thim, he had taken it in stride and they got along fairly well. Then, suddenly, two months before, they had become like friends, they talked, smiled, and even took up practicing their kata's together.  
  
Wufei stepped into the hall and waited for Meiran to come out of her room.  
  
"It's going to be cold!" Tsun-san called from downstairs.  
  
"Meiran?" Wufei called, knocking on her door, "You awake?"  
  
Receiving no response from within, he gently opened the door.  
  
Stepping inside he noted she had indeed minorly done over the room in the last few years. The wallpaper, cushions, curtains, and teddybears were still pink, and still there, but her bed was crimson silk and pictures and posters of dragons and legendary gods and heroes hung everywhere.  
  
Across the room on the dresser, something caught his eye, something familiar. Sitting on the dresser in a frame and stand was a picture of himself. He almost laughed, it was taken from a wanted alert sheet no less. Looking beside the dresser he noticed that there was a poster of himself and Nataku. She'd really gone all out.  
  
Suddenly he heard a moaning and a russle of sheets behind him. Turning he saw Meiran tossing in her bed, her sweat covered face wearing a pained expression. Moving quickly to her side her rested his hand on her forehead. She was running a high fever. Wufei ran to the bathroom and soaked a facecloth with cold water.  
  
Ringing it out he returned to Meiran's room and rested the cool cloth on her feverish brow. She calmed down and stopped tossing, resting quietly, a pained expression still on her face.  
  
"What's going on here? Usually you're both down immediately when I call breakfast." Tsun-san said, comming to a stop at Meiran's door.  
  
"Meiran has a high fever." Wufei said stotically.  
  
"Oh no!" the old lady cried and ran downstairs again. Wufei could hear her talking frantically on the phone, asking the doctor to come as soon as possible.  
  
Glancing around the room Wufei spotted a chair, set it beside her bed and sat, watching over her.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"There's nothing really to do, other than wait for the fever to break." the doctor sighed, standing and putting away his examination tools.  
  
"You can't do anything!?!" Wufei cried and had to keep himself from lunging at the man.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's up to her now." he said, exiting the room.  
  
Wufei growled and plopped down into the chair. He felt helpless, and hated it. Downstairs he could hear Tsun-san thanking the doctor and saying goodbye.  
  
"Last time it was left up to you, you went and died on me," Wufei spoke softly to Meiran, "Well, this time, I'm not gonna let that happen...I came in late again, hopefully this time, it's not too late to save you..."  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
The next few days, Tsun-san watched with worry as Wufei watched tirelessly over Meiran. He never moved, hardly even blinked, and wouldn't have eaten if she hadn't been bringing him regular meals. He stopped sleeping period, and Tsun-san checked a few times just to make sure that he was still breathing.  
  
"You know," Tsun-san suggested on the fourth day, "Maybe if you read or talked to her, let her know you're here, it would help..."  
  
She noticed with some relief that over the next 5 days, he started talking to her, and became quite adept at onesided conversations.  
  
Finally on the tenth day of Meiran's sickness, Tsun-san walked in to find Meiran sleeping peacefully, and Wufei fast asleep in the chair at her side. Smiling, she left Wufei's meal on the bedside table, and quietly closed the door. 


	8. Solitary Dragon

Meiran felt as though she was stuck in deep mud up to her neck. She was stuck and couldn't get out. It was much to hot, and despite her struggles, she couldn't get herself free.  
  
Then, she felt a coolness on her. The heat of the place would wear it down, but it would refresh itself and keep her from burning up.  
  
After a long time the coolness was joined by a voice. Muffled at first, then, with the help of the coolness, she could hear the voice better. It was strong and clear, but quiet. It was Wufei's voice! Not being able to do anything, she relaxed into the growing coolness, and was content to listen to his voice, and rest peacefully.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei sat watching Meiran. He wouldn't move, wouldn't rest, until she was better.  
  
"Wufei..." He heard. It was Meiran's voice! He looked down at her, she didn't seem to have moved, and certainly wasn't now.  
  
"Meiran?" Wufei asked softly.  
  
"Wufei, help, please..." Her voice called, even though she didn't move.  
  
"Meiran! How?" Wufei asked, leaning down towards her resting form.  
  
"Come get me." Her voice echoed, and Wufei found himself falling.  
  
Down and down he fell, then he saw her, she was neck deep in something and it was too warm.  
  
Stopping beside her, careful not to get stuck himself, he reached down, and pulled her out of her prison. Once she was out, she looked at him and smiled, and he drifted into darkness.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Meiran woke, and took a deep breath. She felt tired, but much better.  
  
Looking to her side, she saw Wufei, leaning over the edge of her bed, and fast asleep.  
  
"Thank you for saving me again...husband." She wispered, rested her hand upon his, and fell into a deep restful sleep, with a smile upon her lips.  
  
Wufei sat uprightat her touch, and looked down to see her hand resting upon his, and a soft smile gracing her features.  
  
Giving a sigh of releif and a gentle smile of his own, he set his other hand atop her own, and fell asleep at her side. 


	9. Solitary Dragon

"I think that it's time you shared your own room." Tsun-san announced suddenly at breakfast about amonth after Meiran had recovered.  
  
"What!?!" Meiran yelled, dropping her chopsticks while Wufei decided it would be the perfect time to choke on his food.  
  
"You've been married for years, and have been living together for near to eight months, so I think it's time you started living together properly as husband and wife." Tsun-san stated, closing the discussion.  
  
"Now," she said, standing, "Follow me."  
  
Leading them upstairs, she walked past the rooms they had occupied up until then, and the bathroom and guest room, and stood before her own door, the master bedroom. Wufei merely waited, even though this would be his first glance at the master bedroom, he wasn't exactly the curious type about bedrooms. Meiran just stood and wondered, she had been to the master bedroom many times before, but now that she though about it, not once in the last four months.  
  
Tsun-san turned to them, smiled, and opened the door wide. She ushered them inside and asked them simply, "What do you think?"  
  
Meiran and Wufei stepped into the room and looked around apprehensively. The walls were red with black trees, dragons, mountains, and rivers all in the ancient chinese painting style. There were two black dressers on either side of the door, each with red trim and handles, beside each along the side walls were closet doors in black. There was a dark red couch in the far right corner facing the queen size bed all in black silk in the far left corner. A large windowseat with red cushions was set between the two and directly across from the door. Black oak hardwood covered the floor.  
  
"Wow." Wufei and Meiran murmured as one. The room certainly had changed from what Meiran had seen of it before, and Tsun-san's craftmanship impressed even Wufei.  
  
"This is certainly alot of work! How long did this take you?" Meiran asked, turning to her adopted mother.  
  
"I started it about four months ago." She replied, smiling.  
  
"Where's the other bed?" Wufei asked, looking around the room and getting the sinking feeling that he already knew what the twisted old lady had in mind.  
  
"You are husband and wife," Tsun-san replied simply, "It's only proper for you to share a bed."  
  
Meiran turned, about to protest, when the door shut, and the two of them heard a key turn from the outside.  
  
"You're married, so start acting like it! I will not have this sillyness go on any longer!" Tsun-san called through the door, her footsteps padded away, and Wufei and Meiran were left alone, locked together in their new bedroom. 


	10. Solitary Dragon

Wufei glared at Meiran. Meiran glared at Wufei.  
  
"Why did you let her do that!?!" Wufei yelled at Meiran.  
  
"Me!?! You're the one who was a soldier, why were you caught off guard!?!" she yelled back.  
  
"Injustice onna! She's not my mother!" he hollared back, slipping into his former rant habits.  
  
"Injustice!?! Ha! And FYI, she's your mother too! We're married baka!!!" Meiran shot at him smugly.  
  
Both fell into an uncomfortable silence.  
  
Meiran took a seat on the couch, Wufei perched on the edge of the windowseat farthest from her.  
  
Half an hour passed, then an hour, then two, and the pair sat, saying nothing, waiting from something, for Tsun-san to come back, for the door to open, but nothing happened.  
  
"What time is it?" Meiran asked, finally breaking the silence.  
  
Wufei looked outside and took an approximation from the possition of the sun.  
  
"Almost four thirty." he told her curtly.  
  
Silence fell again.  
  
"I'm sorry she did this." Meiran wispered. In the silence of the locked room, Wufei heard her quite clearly.  
  
"It wasn't your fault, that silly onna got this idea into her head all on her own." he replied, swinging his legs around and up onto the window seat, now possitioned facing Meiran.  
  
"So what are we supposed to do now?" she looked up at him and questioned.  
  
"Well, how long do you think she'll keep us locked in here?" he asked, glancing out the window.  
  
"Not sure, knowing her though, we could be stuck in here for two or three days." Meiran sighed. Stepping off the couch she stretched her limbs and started doing some of her kata froms.  
  
"A FEW DAYS!?!" Wufei yelled, turning to face her so quickly that he lost his balance and fell off the windowseat and onto his hands and knees on the floor. Turning red, he tried to cover up by doing push-ups.  
  
Meiran glanced his was and smirked, then turned and extended a hand before his face, Wufei glanced up at her questioningly and took her hand.  
  
Pulling Wufei to his feet, Meiran started into another of the kata forms, slowly so he would recognize it and join in.  
  
Looking at Meiran, Wufei immediately recognized the form and joined her. Performing the slow methodical movements was quite relaxing for both of them, and the kept practicing the forms in an almost hypnotic state, until the light through the window faded, and the realized that it was dark.  
  
Meiran, knowing the room already, walked over to the wall and turned on the lightswitch.  
  
She turned and gave a half smile.  
  
"If there's nothing else we can do, we may as well go to sleep." she stated simply.  
  
"I don't see how that's a problem, there is a couch after all." Wufei added.  
  
"Yeah, and you can take some of the blankets and one of the pillows for it." Meiran added with a smile.  
  
"Me? What makes you think I'm going to sleep on the couch?" Wufei demanded.  
  
"What? You're going to force me to sleep on the couch?" Meiran yelled at him.  
  
"You are smaller than me." he pointed out.  
  
"That's no reason I should sleep on the couch!!!" she yelled back.  
  
Both turned their backs to each other and refused to speak.  
  
An hour later they were still there, not having moved at all in that time.  
  
*Why is she being so stubborn!?!* Wufei thought to himself annoyed.  
  
*He is being so pig-headed!!!* Meiran thought angrily.  
  
"I think..." Wufei started to say, turning towards Meiran.  
  
"Maybe we..." Meiran said at the same time, turning to face Wufei.  
  
Both stopped and glared at each other.  
  
"What were you goin to say?" Wufe asked, looking at the wall behind Meiran, not really feeling like glaring at her.  
  
"Why don't you say what you were going to say!" Meiran demanded.  
  
"Ah! I am giving you the opportunity to speak because I had hoped to be gracious after we interupted each other." Wufei cried, looking back into the hard ebony eyes of his willful, hardheaded wife and throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.  
  
"I had been about to say we are both mature and able to work this out civily, but I am starting to seriously doubt that assumption!"  
  
"Damn right, you are about as mature as a five year old!" Meiran yelled back, throwing her hands into the air as well.  
  
"Baka onna! Who's the immature one!?!" Wufei yelled back. They both turned back to back, and silence fell again.  
  
Half an hour later, Meiran again broke the quiet in the room.  
  
"Maybe we could share the bed, it is quite big, and there are many layers of covers..." Meiran said quietly and clenched and unclenced her hands at her sides.  
  
"Hn..." was Wufei's only response, although his brain registered shock.  
  
"That was what I had been about to say before," Meiran said, starting to get angry all over again, "Then you started ranting and insulting me!!!" she turned and yelled at him.  
  
"Stop." Wufei said quitely, turning and taking hold of her by the shoulder.  
  
"Don't you tell me to stop! You were the one who was rude and judgemental!!!" Meiran yelled, shaking off Wufei's hold.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said softly, bowing his head, "But stop fighting, not more tonight." he sighed and walked over to the dresser by the bed.  
  
"Oh...ok." Meiran said quietly, slightly stunned.  
  
Opening one of the drawers, Wufei wondered if Tsun-san had put anything for them to sleep in in the drawers.  
  
Blushing bright red, he quickly shut the drawer and stiffly walked over to the other dresser.  
  
"I think that dresser is yours." he choked and opened the closet beside his dresser.  
  
Meiran gave him an inquiering look and approached 'her' dresser.  
  
"How can you tell?" she asked and pulled open the drawer Wufei had just shut so quickly. Turning her own shade of red, she shut the drawer and leaned on the dresser.  
  
"I'm very very sorry, I didn't know." Wufei said as he pulled a pair of black shorts and a matching black night shirt out of the closet.  
  
"She meant for that to happen, I just know she did!" Meiran yelled. *This is soo embarassing! My underwear drawer of all places!!!* she thought at the same time.  
  
"Uh..." Wufei stuttered.  
  
"What?" Meiran asked, turning to face him. She saw his dilema, he was looking at her, and holding a set of night clothes in one hand.  
  
"Oh..." she muttered, "Well, uh...I can turn around while you change, if you will when I do."  
  
"Thank you." Wufei muttered, eyes darting back and forth from her to his night clothes.  
  
"Oh, now?" Meiran asked, blushing.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Wufei nodded, equally as red.  
  
"No problem..." she said quietly and turned around to face the closet beside her dresser.  
  
Wufei hesitantly undid his shirt and threw it onto the couch. Removing his tanktop, he undid the buttons on the nightshirt.  
  
Meiran started at the wall and waited for hom to finish changing. Glancing towards her dresser she noticed her picture of Wufei was there. She hadn't even noticed it was missing from her 'old' room. Looking over the rest of the things on the surface she noticed her jewelbox. Opening it she removed her earings. Placing them in the box she caught a glimps of movement, and blushed red, just now remembering that the inner cover of her jewelbox was a mirror.  
  
She watched him in mute facination as he buttoned the front of the nightshirt and blushed deeper as his bronzed chest. She hadn't known that scholars could have such toned muscles, if that was how he looked back on A0206 under his robes then it was no wonder she had been beaten those years ago.  
  
Undoing his jeans, Wufei pulled them off and tossed them onto the couch as well. Grabbing the shorts he pulled them on.  
  
Meiran shut the jewelbox.  
  
"Done." Wufei said. Meiran turned to see him folding his clothes, she could only stand and stare, lost in her own thoughts.  
  
"Are you going to change for bed?" he asked her, looking up to find her faraway gaze somehow focused on him.  
  
"Oh...yeah!" Meiran exclaimed, snapping out of her stupor, and turning and opening her closet door.  
  
"ARGH!!!!" she yelled in frustration as she saw a miriade of short silk nightdresses, all in red or black. Not one thing she would consider decent for sleeping, let alone the present situation. *She's done it again!* she thought angrily towards her 'mother'.  
  
Pulling out a red nightdress with a v-neck and a high back she sighed in frustration, this was one of the better ones, and it still would only come to he mid-thigh.  
  
"Ok, turn please." she sighed. Wufei turned towards his closet and put his clothes away.  
  
Pulling off her shirt, she quickly yanked the nightgown down over her head and threw the shirt on the bed. Pulling the nightdress down, she undid her pants and slipped them off from under it. Folding her things she put them in the closet.  
  
"Done." she said and turned to face Wufei.  
  
He turned and faced her.  
  
"Wow..." he wispered in awe. *Does she dress like that for bed every night?*  
  
"You look...I mean...wow..." He blurted out before his brain could catch up to his eyes or mouth.  
  
"Thank you...I think..." Meiran murmured sheepishly, then busied herself with turning down the blankets.  
  
"Uh," Wufei tried to think of something to say as he moved hesitently towards the bed. "Did you want to sleep on the inside or the outside?" he managed to come up with.  
  
"Outside." Meiran answered and motioned for him to get in.  
  
Climbing onto the cushiony surface Wufei crawled towards the inside, and lay down under the covers. Folding one sheet and one blanket over him, Meiran walked over, shut off the light and slipped herself under the rest of the covers.  
  
"Goodnight Wufei." Meiran said, closing her eyes.  
  
Looking over, Wufei could see her eyes close from the light of the moon through the window.  
  
"Goodnight Nataku." Wufei wispered as he fell asleep. 


	11. Solitary Dragon

Wufei sat bolt upright in bed when he heard an explosion. Already dressed, he ran for the hangar where Nataku rested, just waiting for action.  
  
Powering up, Wufei thought breifly of what a wonderful dream it had been, to be with Meiran again, then he and Nataku left the hangar, ready to battle whatever stood in their way.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Meiran woke in the dark. Looking around, she saw what had awakened her, Wufei was dreaming. Meiran sat up and noted grimly that it must have been a nightmare. She could almost sense the tension in Wufei's body, and could have sworn that the movements he was making were those for piloting a mobil suit.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei watched his screen as wave after wave of mobile suits came after him. After getting rid eight Taurus and five Aries, he cut through the last three Leos that remained and moved in to destroy the main ship.  
  
"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He yelled as he charged, took aim, and shot his dragon fang at the bridge of the ship.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"  
  
Meiran jumped as Wufei yelled out loud durring his dream. In retaliation she swung an arm at him, her fist landing square in the chest with a thump.  
  
"Baka..." she muttered at him.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei grimaced, but kept silent as he found out the hard way that this particular ship had a beam cannon, and that it had been aimed straight at the pilot's compartment of Nataku.  
  
Checking for damages, he looked up again to see the cannon already recharged and ready for another strike.  
  
It fired. It felt like it punched right through the gundanium and hit him square in the chest.  
  
Crying out in pain, Wufei drifted into darkness. Fuzzy vision showed Meiran leaning over him in concern. He tried to reach for her, but couldn't find the strength to move.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Nataku, I am too weak...I am unworthy. Demo, wo ai ni..."  
  
Meiran blinked a few times. Had she really heard what she thought she just heard? She had almost thought she had hurt him when he had cried out after her hit, but she realized it was from his dream. The words though, they had been the biggest shock. He had seen her, his sleep filled eyes parting, and registering recognition.  
  
*He knew he was speaking to me...he really did want to tell me that...*  
  
She looked down at him again, his face was peaceful now, his fine raven locks falling loose across his face. Her eyes almost watered. This was what she had wanted to believe was still alive, why she had refused to believe completely that her husband was dead.  
  
*He loves me too. It was that damned arranged marriage that kept us from realizing it for so long.*  
  
Carefully she moved his arm away from his side and moved close to him, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder. Involuntarily, from his soldier training in keeping hidden and staying small, Wufei's arm slid back towards his side, pressing Meiran close against him.  
  
If he had done it consiously, she would have become outraged and hit him, but in this case, she merely let herself enjoy the feeling of being so close to her husband.  
  
"Aishiteru, Wufei." She murmured, and fell back to sleep.  
  
Wufei smiled in his sleep. *I don't have to fight anymore, we are together.* 


	12. Solitary Dragon

Wufei woke up to find a warmth at his side. Looking over, he was slightly surprized to see Meiran pressed close to him, his arm around her.  
  
*When did that happen?* his brain demanded.  
  
Reguardless, he smiled as he looked down at his sleeping wife. The remnents of a smile graced her lips.  
  
Sighing lightly, he tried to think of a way to remove himself without disturbing her sleep. Then the memory of the locked door came to mind.  
  
*That's going to become a problem eventually...* his brain notified him.  
  
Looking around, Wufei spotted a clock on the far wall, and noted that it was 9:00am. He would have been perfectly content to lay in that spot for a few more hours, but his stomach chose that moment to make itself heard.  
  
Meiran grimmaced and lifted her head to look around.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, not even mentioning the fact that Wufei's arm was still around her, much to his surprize.  
  
"It's nine in the morning." he told her quietly as he wondered why their possition wasn't being questioned.  
  
"If you can ignore your stomach, we could just stay here a while longer..." Meiran suggested softly.  
  
Wufei looked down to see her face tilted up to face his. She looked normal, but something about her expression, no, her eyes, pleaded him not to refuse her, and hinted that there was something he should be remembering.  
  
"Ok." he said smiling, he had been thinking the same thing while she had been asleep, so what difference was it that she was awake, and felt the same no less? She smiled at lay back down against his side.  
  
*What am I missing? What happened that I'm forgetting? If it's something that caused this, I should definitly not have forgotten it!* he thought, racking his brain to try and figure out what made them end up like that.  
  
*At least we're not fighting, I don't want to have to fight anymore.* he thought, and instantly something clicked.  
  
*That dream, did I say things out loud?* he started to worry.  
  
He didn't get to worry for long, for that instant was the one that Tsun-san decided to burst through the door.  
  
Wufei and Meiran immediatly jumped for opposite sides of the bed.  
  
"Good morning!" Tsun-san cried, eyes sparkling at the sight of the two in the same bed. "Sleep well?"  
  
"Mother!!!" Meiran yelled in outrage and launched her pillow at her. Tsun-san blocked it with the door, then stuck her head back in and said, "Breakfast's ready!"  
  
With a wink and a smile that enraged both Wufei and Meiran, Tsun-san was gone.  
  
Angrily, Meiran tossed her covers aside and stalked to her closet. Pulling out a red top with short green sleeves, a traditional collar, a buttoned, chest crossing flap, and a pair of green leggings she turned to Wufei.  
  
"Do you mind leaving the room while I change?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, no." Wufei said, almost managing not to blush. Removing his own covers, he moved to the edge of the bed, and walked out of the room.  
  
Smiling a second as she remembered the warmth of Wufei's body beside her, Meiran returned the scoul to her face and quickly changed her clothes. Opening her jewel box she decided on her dragon earings with the dangling jet beads, put them in, and caught a glimps of something gold and silver.  
  
Moving her different braclettes and necklaces aside, she dug her fingers in, and came out with a ring. Elaborate, yet simple, it was two dragons, on gold, one silver, intertwined with each other. It was her wedding band.  
  
Confused as to how it got there, she held it into the light and recalled the day she had gotten it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
Glaring out her window, Meiran fumed. It was all the stupid elder's fault. He was the one who had chosen Wufei to be wedded to her. He hadn't even considered what a mismatch it was.  
  
*tap tap*  
  
Meiran looked up. If it was one of the elders, they would have knocked and come in when she hadn't said anything. So who else would be comming to her room?  
  
"Come in." she said, curious, despite her black mood, to see who would be visiting her.  
  
The door opened, and Chang Wufei, her new husband walked in and closed the door behind him.  
  
"I would speak with you." he said simply, in a quiet but firm voice.  
  
Meiran's scoul deepened, this was the worst visitor she could have possibly gotten, especially at that moment.  
  
"Speak then." was all she would say.  
  
"I realize that neither of us like this arrangement, but I also realize that there is little we can do about it. I think it would work out best if we both left each other alone."  
  
"Of course you would think that, you're just a cowardly weakling scholar." Meiran spat. "Do you realize that we are expected to produce an heir?"  
  
"Yes, I do realize that fact, but they can hardly expect that so soon, and perhaps after a while we will come to hold some care for each other." He responded flatly.  
  
Meiran just snorted *Care? For a weakling scholar? Not ever!* "That is much to far away to ever satisfy the elders."  
  
"Fine." Wufei sighed. "Reguardless, I also came to give you this." Walking over, he handed her a black suede box with the clan's red dragon emblem on the top.  
  
"What's this?" Meiran glared up at him and demanded.  
  
"Call it an apology." he said simply and left the room.  
  
About to protest, Meiran decided to look instead at this apology of his. Opening the box, she found the most lovely pair of ring sized dragons she had ever seen.  
  
*Rings aren't even a part of the ceremony...*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
Smiling slightly, Meiran slipped the ring onto her finger, and went down for breakfast.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei glared into the bathroom mirror and recalled his dream from the night before.  
  
"I can't believe I said those things in my sleep." he sighed and brushed his hair straight again.  
  
Returning to their new room, he went to his closet and noted that Tsun-san had provided him with a few more outfits than he had had before. A smile tugged at his lips as he spotted a white Tang dynasty outfit.  
  
*Tsun-san must have seen some pictures of him in this...* Amused, he pulled the robes out and changed into them and out of his bedclothes.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Tsun-san smiled as she set the table and Meiran came down the stairs.  
  
"Hungry?" she called. Meiran just nodded, sat down at the table, and started to eat.  
  
A few minutes later the two women heard Wufei comming down the stairs. Tsun-san cried out happily when she saw his outfit.  
  
"You wore it! Oh wonderful!!!" she almost squealed.  
  
"Yes, I suppose you aranged it?" Wufei asked, sitting down at the table and starting to eat ravenouly.  
  
Meiran gained a solemn expression. She couldn't figure out why, but she was both happy and upset to see him in that outfit, but, either way, she had to admit it suited him.  
  
"Of course!" Tsun-san responded and took her own seat, smiling broadly. 


	13. Solitary Dragon

"I've made plans for dinner." Tsun-san announced as they gathered for lunch.  
  
"Where are you going? Or is it dinner guests?" Wufei asked.  
  
*Oh no.* Meiran thought. *I know what's comming next...*  
  
"We are going out for dinner. I've had the reservations for weeks." Tsun-san answered, not looking up from setting the table.  
  
"WE!?! You're dragging us along?" Wufei cried in protest.  
  
"I knew it..." Meiran muttered helplessly.  
  
"Well you two don't seem to go out much on your own," Tsun-san rationalized, still not looking at either of them. "And you've not made many connections here in the city. I never see you going out with friends or anything..."  
  
"So you decide to force us to go out? That's very well thought out!!!" Wufei yelled sarcastically.  
  
*Hopeless!* Meiran thought, plopping down in her seat for lunch.  
  
Tsun-san looked up and straight into Wufei's eyes.  
  
"You are going, and that is the end of it, do you understand?"  
  
Wufei was taken aback, he'd never known the old woman to be anything but kind and well meaning, if somtimes forceful, michevious and deceitful. This cold hard stare and determined voice was something he hadn't thought her capable of.  
  
"Understood." He said and took his seat.  
  
Instantly Tsun-san was back to normal, cheery and bubbly, only now Wufei knew what steel lay behind the cheeryness.  
  
*What else will this onna subject me to!?!?!* Wufei thought to himself as he began to eat.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"I've picked out the outfits you are both to wear to dinner, they will be hanging on your closet doors." Tsun-san said a few hours later as she ushered the pair up the stairs to prepare to go out to dinner.  
  
"Now, the reservation is for 7, and it's 5 now, so that should give everybody time to prepare properly." She said and went into her room, the former spare bedroom across from the bathroom, to get ready.  
  
Walking into their room, Wufei and Meiran turned towards their closets to find very fancy outfits hanging on the doors waiting for them.  
  
"Where are we going to eat? The Emperor's Palace?" Wufei asked, looking over his dinner wear dubbiously.  
  
"No," Meiran sighed. "Just one of those high society restraunts she loves to go to."  
  
Fingering the silk fabric of her outfit, Meiran had to wonder how much Tsun-san had spent on their new wardrobes alone. Sighing, she left the room again, calling weaking "I'm going to wash up." as she left.  
  
Wufei had similarly been absorbed with the inspection of his garment, and hadn't heard her call out her immediate plans. Giving a shrug he went about his own business.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
In the bathroom Meiran folded her towel over the rack and turned the water to the right temperature, letting it run into the tub, the steam starting to warm the room pleasantly.  
  
The door swung open and Tsun-san stepped inside.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to come in on you!" she exclaimed, shutting the door behind her.  
  
"That's alright." Meiran responded quickly.  
  
"I'll be gone in a second." Tsun-san said, stepping into the linencloest and rumaging around for the things she was looking for.  
  
"I'm just washing up before we go." Meiran said as she removed her clothes and slipped into the warm water.  
  
"That's good dear, I can lock the door on the way out if you want." Tsun-san's muffled voice said. Giving a triumphant cry, she stepped out of the cloest and headed for the door.  
  
"Enjoy your bath dear." she said as she pulled the door shut. 


	14. Solitary Dragon

Wufei stood staring at the garment he would be expected to wear. Cursing, he turned and glared out the window.  
  
"What injustice."  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Sighing deeply, Meiran allowed herself to relax in the bath. The warm water soaked into her skin and flowed through her tense muscles.  
  
*Ok, down to business.* she thought, sitting up and grabbing the soap.  
  
She had to admit to herself, as she scrubbed the dirt from her skin, going out tonight might not be such a disaster, she might not even hate it, if she tried to have a good time.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei glanced toward the door when he heard the knock. Tsun-san stood there looking at him inquieringly.  
  
"What do you want onna?" he asked, glaring at her.  
  
"Why aren't you getting ready?" she asked, as usual, ignoring his look and tone.  
  
"It's much too early to get dressed." Wufei stated, looking back to the window.  
  
"But not for a bath," Tsun-san smiled to his back. "I'm going to have mine at 6:00, I want you to have had one before then." she stated and turned, closing the door behind her.  
  
"What? Why!?!" Wufei asked, turning narrowed eyes on the closing door. "Crazy old onna."  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Meiran sank beneith the water and allowed her hair get wet.  
  
In the hall Wufei knocked on Tsun-san's door.  
  
"Yes?" she called from inside.  
  
"Do you know where Meiran is?" Wufei asked, leaving the door shut.  
  
"She's downstairs, getting some things." The old lady answered, smiling secretly.  
  
Wufei merely nodded, a motion which was lost on the door, and walked to the bathroom door.  
  
Inside, Meiran sat up languidly and swept her hair back out of her face.  
  
The door swung open, and ebony eyes met, both wide with surprize. A second slowed to an eternity, and Wufei caught all the curves and corners, the perfect skin, much more than he had ever expected to see, her tones and textures, the soft round orbs on her chest, her delicate waist and the curves of her hips danced just below the water, and her features were instantly carved into his memory. Meiran's arms flew from pulling back her hair to covering her exposed breasts from her husband's shocked gaze. The second ended.  
  
Both cried out in alarm and dismay and Wufei fled from the bathroom, slaming the door in his haste.  
  
"Tsun-san! You said she was downstairs!!!" Wufei yelled at the door across the hall.  
  
"MOTHER!!! You said you locked the door!!!" Meiran hollared from in the bathroom.  
  
Wufei crossed the hall and started yelling at Tsun-san through her door.  
  
Meiran rinsed her hair and wrapped herself in a towel, her actions hastened and graceless from fury. Charging out the door and heading for her and Wufei's room, she slammed the door angrily and yelled, "I'm done!!!" just as it closed.  
  
Wufei glared daggers at the insigator's door, stalked into the bathroom, and made sure to lock it the door behind him.  
  
Running the water until it might have burned anyone else, he removed his clothes and stepped into the shower.  
  
Quickly he scrubbed himself clean and washed his hair, but the anger could not be as viciously removed as the dirt from his skin.  
  
Stepping out of the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and picked up his clothes. Noticing Meiran had left her's in the bathroom in her raged exit, he picked them up as well and returned to their room.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
"I'm going to kill that woman!" Meiran ranted, seated at her dresser, violently ripping the hair brush through her raven locks.  
  
*How could she have done that!?! It was completely uncalled for! I thought being locked in the bedroom was bad, HA! Well, she topped herself in less than 24 hours!!!* Meiran's furious thoughts ran circles in her head.  
  
The door opened and Wufei, dressed in a towel and holding both their clothes, walked in. Meiran's face turned red, she looked straight on at her husband's tones chest and narrow waist, long defined legs and powerful arms, strong muscles everywhere, marking him as more a soldier than a scholar. She became scarlet at the rememberance that she was still clothed only in a towel.  
  
Wufei looked at her and reddened immediatly, both because she wore only a towel, and because he had the vision of what was beneith it engrained into his memory.  
  
"You left your clothes in the bathroom, I brought them for you." he managed to say, setting their clothes on the couch.  
  
"Thank you." Meiran said flatly, her attention back on tearing the brush through her hair.  
  
"Meiran, I,... I mean I'm." Wufei stuttered.  
  
"No." Meiran cut him off. For once Wufei didn't argue back. Sighing in resignation to her justified anger, her picked up a brush from his dresser and started pulling it through his own raven strands.  
  
*No appologies, we'll get her back later..." Meiran thought to herself. 


	15. Solitary Dragon

"Everyone ready!?!" Tsun-san called from downstairs.  
  
Wufei and Meiran merely decended the stairs and waited without coment for the old lady's instructions. First though, she had to express her delight at their handpicked attire.  
  
Meiran stood stoticly as her mother twittered on about her dress. Formal collared and sleeveless, it was red with black trim and a slit up each side to her knees.  
  
Wufei stood impatiently as he was looked over. His too was red with black trim, same fomal collar and shoulders, but his had black sleeves comming from beneith. His pants were similar to those from his customary Tang Dynasty outfit, only they were black with a line of red trim all the way up the outside of either leg.  
  
Developing a slight frown/twitch in the corner of his mouth, Wufei's patience, what little he had, was used up.  
  
"WOULD YOU STOP BEING SO DAMNDED CRITICAL ONNA!!! IT'S ALMOST 7!!!" Meiran sighed and Tsun-san stopped cold.  
  
"Quite right, let's go." she quickly regained herself and bustled out the door. Meiran followed helplessly, Wufei sighed angrily and followed as well.  
  
Outside, Wufei was shocked to see a black limosine waiting. Reguardless, he got in, Meiran smiled when she saw his expression.  
  
"She always rents big expensive fancy limos when we go out to eat. She likes to put on a big show, be the center of attention and all that." she explained as the limo left for the resteraunt.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Stepping out of the limo, Tsun-san smiled at the sight of her favorite resteraunt, she hadn't been there since about a month before Wufei had arrived.  
  
"I have missed this place."  
  
"You mean you missed your gossip circles." Meiran stated flatly as she and Wufei stepped out of the limo.  
  
Tsun-san smirked and led them inside.  
  
The entrance was fancy and modern, unlike many other resteraunts, that prefered to stay with traditional decor. Large crystal encrusted chandeliers hung from the ceiling and a snobbish looking host stood at a podium stand with a reservations ledger.  
  
"Min and Chang, 7:00." Tsun-san said stepping up to the host.  
  
The man looked up the names and put on a big phony smile.  
  
"Right this way." he said and led them to the dinning room.  
  
Wufei looked around at this 'high society' establishment. He wasn't impressed in the least.  
  
Tsun-san, on the other hand, was delighted, she waved and smiled at several of the other ladies at different tables.  
  
"Your table." the man said, stopping and pulling out a chair for Tsun- san and then Meiran. Wufei sat on his own, not waiting to see if the man would try and pull out a chair for him.  
  
Feeling very uncomfortable and out of place, he looked up to find Meiran sitting stiffly in her seat. He looked around and noted with no small amount of anger that several pairs of obviously unwelcome eyes were staring at her.  
  
Trying to keep a straight face, and not glare at those pairs of eyes, Wufei anticipated a long and stressful night.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
The dinner had been good enough, but Meiran hardly had an appetite when some of the boys at other tables were looking at her as thought she were desert. Looking at Tsun-san, she diguarded her hope of asking to go home, she was now engaged in conversation with one of her gossip groupies, and was leaving Wufei and her alone at their table. Looking at Wufei, she wondered why he didn't seem to be bothered by the staring eyes, could he not have noticed? Meiran sighed in defeat, he probably didn't know they were any different from all the other glances sent their way throughout the evening, he was just too much out of his element.  
  
A hand fell to rest on her shoulder and Meiran immediately stiffened and drew in a hissing breath. Looking up, she came to see one of the local rich boys leering at her grotesquely. Muo Tese. Tsun-san had introduced them on one of her first outings. She severly disliked the boy. He didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care.  
  
"Goodevening Meiran, I'd begun to worry that you were never comming back to see us." He said, leaning down close to her, his sour breath of salad and lamb entered her protesting senses. Meiran suppressed a shudder of revultion.  
  
"If only." she muttered under her breath. She saw Wufei smirk out of the corner of her eye. Didn't he care? Didn't he realize what peril she was in? No, he probably didn't, she had always been very strong around him, but in this new enviroment, in the open, she had had to change, and he didn't even know she needed rescue.  
  
"Why don't I ever see you around?" he asked, smiling creepily.  
  
"I'm a busy woman." Meiran responded, trying to move away from him, but his other arm was snaked around her shoulder, preventing her escape.  
  
"Surely not to busy for me!" He exclaimed, playing hurt.  
  
"Leave me alone Tese."  
  
"You don't really mean that." he said persuasively, leaning so close Meiran could almost feel him drooling on her, and she had to suppress another shudder.  
  
"She obviously did." Wufei said from beside him. Meiran looked up in surprize, she hadn't even noticed him move. Almost smiling, she gave an inner sigh of releif.  
  
"And who are you?" Tese turned and asked, "Her big brother?" smirking, he turned away from Wufei and refocused his attention on Meiran.  
  
"I don't think so, now, leave her alone." Wufei said.  
  
Annoyed, Tese turned back to Wufei and gave a sigh.  
  
"Listen buddy, she's not taken, it's up to her to say who she wants, and I say she wants me."  
  
Wufei glared at him, resisting a serious urge to break his nose, or more. Sighing, he calmed and looked right at him, "I'll say it once more, and I suggest that you listen this time. Leave my wife alone."  
  
Tese gave Wufei an incredulous look and then looked at Meiran, who sat in her seat, stunned to silence. "Yeah right." he said, and once more turned and moved towards the stunned woman. As he leaned close, he noticed her eyes loose their stunned expression and focus on him. She grimmaced at his closeness, then smirked.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked her, putting on a charming smile, which Meiran easily ignored.  
  
"You heard my husband, leave me alone." she said, her eyes dancing as she brushed him off.  
  
"You've got to be kidding, you got married to that loser since the last time you came here?" Tese's face went from charming to scornful.  
  
"No, I was married to him long before that." she said with a smile. Having had her fun, she extended a hand and smiled earnestly up at Wufei. "I think that I would like to leave now husband." she said, waiting to see if he would catch on.  
  
Wufei, after eyeing her in surprize when she confirmed their relationship, joined the ploy to humiliate the honorless boy, and extended a hand to take Meiran's. Smiling wider, Meiran took his hand and stood, then looped her arm through his and the two walked out of the resteraunt. Tese stood, shamed and humiliated before his high society peers, and supressed a cry of rage. A moment later, he walked stiffly back to his own table.  
  
Outside, Meiran and Wufei exited the building, and started to laugh. The smiles and glances they gave to each other every once in a while only sent them into more fits of laughter. Finally, teary eyed and smiling wide, they looked at each other and managed not to laugh. Sighing, they returned to their normal, placid selves. Wufei swept an arm in the general direction of their home, and the two started to walk.  
  
The couple walked, and as they came to the first light, Meiran turned to Wufei, and hesitated before speaking.  
  
"Wufei, I...I want to thank you, for helping me with that insufferable boy..." she said hesitantly, about to keep rambling, when the light changed, Wufei looped his arm through hers, and started them walking again.  
  
"I don't think it was any trouble to help you, I would be a pretty poor husband if I didn't, now wouldn't I?" he said, not looking anywhere but where they were walking. "besides, didn't you enjoy bringing justice to that dishonorable joke of a man? I'd say we did a pretty good job, wouldn't you, Nataku?"  
  
Meiran looked up at her husband and couldn't contain her smile, which Wufei's inconspicuos darting sideways glance caught. Resisting the sudden unfamiliar urge to try and kiss him, she contented herself with leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked, caught up in his words, and a newfound, and slightly desturbing need to be close to him. She wondered if her warrior ways weren't being compremised by this new close affection she felt towards her husband, but dismissed the thought to be considered at a time when she felt like having such thoughts.  
  
Wufei took a few stiff steps as Meiran leaned her head against his shoulder, but relaxed as he found he could enjoy the feeling of her against him. *Not quite as nice as this morning, but still nice* the thought rushed past before he could ponder on it. He wondered if maybe she wouldn't be more gentle around him after the occurances of the past two days, but also found that he was disturbed at the thought of that happening. She might be a better model of a clan wife if she was, but she wouldn't be Meiran. She would no longer be his Nataku.  
  
"Aw, look at the young couple out for a walk, isn't that cute?"  
  
Meiran and Wufei stiffened. Separating from each other they turned and glared at the speaker.  
  
Three figured emerged out of the alley they had just passed. The shortest was a young muscled man with short spikey hair streaked with red. He seemed to be the leader of the other two, and was obviously the one who had made the comment as they had passed. The other two were slightly taller and more stringy than muscled, but still obviously had strength, they had the same style of hair, each streaked with different colors. They were leering and snickering at the two.  
  
"And don't they look fancy, don't you think that they could spare some money for us less fortunate folks boys?" The shorter man said, laughing at the two, signaling the other men forward.  
  
Wufei was stunned for almost a second. They were mugging them? Were they crazy? and other similar thoughts ran through his head. Then he recalled that he was no longer an infamous Gundam Pilot, and there was no reason that these thugs would assume he could put up any kind of fight. Knowing that Meiran could definetly handle herself in this situation, Wufei concentrated completely on his own opponent.  
  
Meiran could hardly contain a smile, despite the comment of the shorter man. She had accumulated so much stress from the resteraunt scene, she had just felt like fighting it off, and these unfortunate thugs were going to be her punching bags. Knowing Wufei would be taking care of his own fight, she put her full concentration into her match.  
  
The two thugs just smiled and laughed as Meiran and Wufei took on fighting stances and faced them without fear. Then, with clumsy syncronization, they attacked.  
  
The man that lunged at Meiran was closer, and first to swing. He had black biker gloves on, she noticed as she leaned back and dodged. Falling back onto a waiting hand, she swept her leg out in a roundhouse to knock him over from his own momentum, ready to dodge to the side as he fell forward, but to her surprize, he straightened and jumped to avoid her sweep. Springing up quickly with the rebound from her arm, she straightened, and wondered what other surprizes this guy had up his sleeve.  
  
Wufei took in his opponent as he was charging. He noted with a impassive face that he was wearing brass knuckles. That would be something to look out for. The guy tried to strike first, but Wufei sidestepped and landed his elbow in his opponent's back. Not to be outdone, as he fell, the guy twisted to the side, and swung his far fist around backwards to hit Wufei in the side. Wufei saw it comming, and put an arm down to intercept, and had his elbow struck with the side of the knuckles. He ignored the blow, but the fact remained, that had hurt him. But he couldn't concern himself with that now, the guy landed on his hands in a push-up possition, and sprang back to his feet.  
  
Meiran and her opponent took a second to size each other up, then both struck. Both went for punches, but switched to forearm blows as they both realized the serious damage they would receive otherwise. While the thug had trapped his other arm with the move, Meiran used one of her family kata's moves and struck around her arm, getting a good shot in on his rib cage. The man grunted from the blow and glared at her with newfound hatred. Obviously a guy who didn't like loosing to a girl. Meiran kept an impassive face, as they both stepped back. She didn't want to get overconfident and lose because of it.  
  
Wufei tried a low kick as the guy got back to his feet, but it was an obvious move, and his opponent predicted it, stepped forward around the move, and tried to land a close punch to Wufei's ribs. Wufei saw the attempt and blocked, taking care to avoid another hit by the knuckles, and got in his own punch. As his opponent stumbled back, clutching his chest with one hand, Wufei finished him with a high kick to the head, and the guy fell without complaint to the street, and didn't move.  
  
The man fighting Meiran was distracted as his partner fell to Wufei, and Meiran took her chance. With a series of small punches to the chest that left him gasping, Meiran finished him off with a hard knee to the side, digging in deep between the guy's ribs and hip bone. He fell with a grunt and Meiran and Wufei both turned to face the leader.  
  
"Hey, we were just asking for handouts...we didn't ask for any trouble!" He said nervously, turned and retreated back into the alley.  
  
Meiran couldn't help smiling as they started down the street again. Wufei walked silently beside her, glad that the opportunity to release the stress from the restraunt had come up, but upset that he had allowed himself to be struck by such an inferior fighter.  
  
The people around them, just watching from doorways and those who had been walking down the street looked on captivated by the couple's skills, and their despention of the thugs that had been stalking their neighborhood for the last few weeks. One of the ladies in the doorway of a shop the two had been about to pass when they were stopped started to clap, and soon all the people on the street joined her in an ovation to the pair of fighters. Meiran, unused to praise on such a scale when not in a tournament, couldn't help blushing. Wufei managed a quick smile, and waved a farewell as he started after his wife.  
  
Meiran looked at him as he caught up to her. "It's almost like we're superheroes." She commented lightly, he didn't reply, but noted her smile and couldn't help adding his own. It had been nice to fight a real fight again, where skill and technique won against brute force and cheep tricks.  
  
He winced, stopping himself from crying out in pain as Meiran took his arm again, and Wufei felt the injuring blow of the metal weapon on his bone vividly.  
  
Meiran looked up in concern when she took his arm and he criged. She started to ask what was wrong, when the sky split with a flash of light, and a downpour started.  
  
Wufei ignored the burning pain in his elbow, and ran with Meiran to a doorway with a large overhang, sheltering them from the rain. He felt Meiran probing his arm, and knew she had noticed his discomfort when she had taken his arm.  
  
Meiran couldn't see in the darkness without any store or porch lights, and doubted it would have helped with his black sleeves, but could have sworn that she felt a wet stickyness on the elbow of his sleeve just before the rain had started. "Wufei, did you get hurt in the fight?" She asked him directly, looking up at him.  
  
"No." He answered automatically, he had been in so many fights durring the war, this should have been nothing, but it hurt, and he started to wonder if he was realy comming to be a normal person again. If normal injuries hurt...he could be becoming average. What a scary thought.  
  
"Yes you are, and I think you're bleeding." Meiran responded, and started to roll up his sleeve, determined to make sure he was ok. "We need to get home." She said, looking at the sky as she rolled the black fabric up.  
  
Wufei stood, annoyed and wet as Meiran concerned herself with his wellbeing. Then he noticed a very familiar limo pull up to the side of the road, and the window roll down as he watched it reveal the face of Tsun- san.  
  
"Come in out of the rain." She called, opening the back door. Wufei ran through the rain and quickly entered the vehicle, Meiran right behind him, delaying the discovery of his wound until they got home. 


	16. Solitary Dragon

"You kids sure left in a hurry." Tsun-san commented lightly as the limo started off again. She had really been watching every detail of the exchange between Tese and her two, but knew they would handle the situation and come out the better for it.  
  
Meiran rolled her eyes and ignored her excentric adoptive mother. Now that she thought about it, she was more like a grandmother or greatgrandmother, and acted more like it too. She acted the meddling grandmother perfectly too. Leaning back into the seat, she looked over at Wufei through worried eyes. He said he wasn't hurt from their fight with the thugs, but he had been wincing in pain at the same time, and to her, actions spoke louder than words. She tried to recall if she had seen him hit, but she had also been absorbed in her own little melee at the time, and wasn't as observent of his fight as she normally would have been.  
  
Allowing herself a self indulgent smile, she gazed at her husband and wondered if he knew how much adoration and popularity he'd gained as a gundam pilot, at least in her eyes. She had tended to diminish his acheivements after he switched to the Altron, because she had been told he had died and been replaced, but everytime she got a newsclip, or a peice of information on that guy as well, he was still piloting the 'Nataku', and that thought would stay with her, and feed a small flame of hope, hope that her husband was still alive. Alive so that she could tell him that even though they fought and she picked on him and demeaned him, she had realized too late that he had always been the stronger one, and that in her last moments, she realized that she had fallen in love with him. More than the fact that she had not been able to tell him, her saddness and need for the hope that he was alive was fueled by the fact that he had died to bring her justice to space and the earth sphere, and she wouldn't believe he had died for that.  
  
Cursing himself over and over again, Wufei realized that Meiran's observation was correct, the blow he had recieved was bleeding. Cupping his hand under the sleeve he tried to keep the blood off the car seats and not let either woman know his condition. He was bleeding steadily, if not heavily, but it still had the same effect, by the time they reached their home, Wufei was feeling slightly light headed, and his cupped hand was full. as he stepped out of the car, he allowed the blood to pour off his hand and down a street drain along with the pouring rain. He was relieved to see in the dim street light that the rain also washed away a considerable amount of the blood that had soaked into the sleeve itself. With his other hand, he rung out the elbow and hoped that took care of all the blood that had fallen already.  
  
Tsun-san unlocked the door, oblivious of the anxious pacing of her adoptive daughter. Stepping inside, she allowed Meiran and Wufei to step inside and shut the door behind them. Wufei immediately removed his shoes and hurried up the stairs and to the room he shared with Meiran. Tsun-san removed her coat and hung it on the coat rack as she watched him go. Meiran followed him with worried eyes and quickly followed after removing her own shoes. Tsun-san smiled smugly as she watched Meiran hurry up after Wufei, completely misinterpreting the situation.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Meiran got to the top of the stairs just intime to see the door of the bedroom she shared with Wufei shut. Growing more concerned with every moment, she stopped in the bathroom for the first aid kit that was kept there, and made her way to the bedroom.  
  
As she was about to open the door, she looked down, and on the floor was a spot of liquid. It wasn't that unusual, they had been out in a downpour, and the rain had soaked them both. What worried her was that the small pool of rain on the floor held a swirling tinge of red.  
  
Opening the door, she entered almost expecting to see Wufei unconcious on the floor, blood pooling out from a large gash on his arm that he had somehow kept hidden from her before. Instead, she saw him leaning heavily on the couch, grimacing in pain and probing his elbow with the index finger and thumb of his other hand. He glanced up as Meiran entered, but knew she had already deduced enough to know of his injury.  
  
Looking at him, Meiran wondered how he could have let himself get such an injury. "It was such a stupid move, I should have dodged it with no problem...I am a weakling." He answered her unspoken question. He was also starting to berate herself on his performance in the fight.  
  
"You are not a weakling!" Meiran yelled fiercely and stalked over to his side, and kneeled down beside him, setting the first aid kit on the floor beside her. "Take off your shirt." She ordered. Wufei complied without comment, slightly surprized by her vhenoment reaction to his comment, and still lightheaded from the continuing loss of blood.  
  
Meiran gasped when Wufei's shirt lay disguarded on the floor and his elbow was exposed. It wasn't to the point where he would have passed out, but that was only a matter of time. He had lost a lot of blood already, was starting to have trouble defining shapes in the room, and couldn't hear anything clearly.  
  
Meiran opened the first aid kit and took out a cotton swab and a bottle of disinfectant solution. Pouring the clensing solution on the cotton, she closed the bottle and started to dab the wound clean. It was a ragged gash, not as big as her wild immagining, but still bad. She wondered how he had managed to get such a wound from an unarmed opponent. That thought sent her spinning onto an even worse train of thought. What if the man Wufei had faced had been armed, and Meiran had just been lucky that her opponent wasn't, or didn't have the time or will to use his. What could it have been? Something with an edge, but not sharp from the look of the wound. A metal bar? No, she would have seen something as big as that, able to make that mark. Something small, or hidden, most likely metal, and easy to get a swing out of without beeing seen. What could it have been? Taking out another large ball of cotton, she set it against his wound and took out the bandage roll. Holding the cotton, she set the end of the bandage against it, and started to wind it around and around his elbow, securing it with a knot when she was done.  
  
Putting the disinfectant bottle away and closing the first aid kit, she looked up at her husband and noticed that his eyes were lolling in many directions, as though he were trying to stay awake, and decided he needed to go to sleep more than anything. He would be fine in the morning, she hoped. If not, she would have to take him into the hospital. She really hoped that there wasn't anything wrong with the bone or joint.  
  
Taking a hold of his good arm, she swung it over her shoulder and helped him towards the bed.  
  
"What are you doing Onna!?!" was her immediate thanks.  
  
"You need sleep!" She replied, continuing towards the bed. Wufei struggled futily.  
  
"I don't need to go to sleep, besides, I can do this perfectly fine without your help!" he protested.  
  
"You're hurt, and not thinking straight, you do need my help, besides, I want to help." She said, trying to calm him, she should have known better.  
  
"Are you implying that I cannot think Onna!?! And I don't need your help!!!" he protested loudly, and with a burst of strength, broke free of Meiran and tried to stride confidently towards the bed. He wasn't careful enough about his arm, and it swung heavily, and into a possition that hurt him alot. He cried out in pain and let out a string of curses.  
  
"Are you alright!?! I told you you needed help!" Meiran cried, rushing forward to help, but then stopping when she realized that her help might encourage him to try that stunt again.  
  
"I'M FINE!!! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!!!" Wufei yelled, taking more care this time and climbing onto the bed with careful attention to where his arm was at all times. Finally settling down, he tried to assume a comfortable possion, but the injury made it almost impossible.  
  
Meiran knew he was uncomfortable and saw his tossing and turning, and that he was breathing hard from his exertion and the major loss of blood, but wasn't sure if he was going to hurt himself again if she tried to help. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore and climbed up on the bed, and started to arrange the pillows and blankets so that he could lay comfortably, but still support his arm and keep it from keeping him awake from the pain. Immediately he objected.  
  
"Onna! What are you doing!?! I told you I don't need help!!!"  
  
"And tell me Wufei, have you had any luck so far? Have you been able to the right possition so that it doesn't hurt? I thought not, so let me help!!!" Meiran yelled back, glaring at him. He grumbled and became silent. After a few moments of silence, and Meiran stopped arranging to discover him sleeping soundly, and for the most part, without pain.  
  
Standing, she realized how wet she was still, she hadn't changed out of her dinnerwear, and was still soaked from the downpour. Walking to her closet, she quickly changed out of her wet dress and into a warm cotton knight shirt. It was red with black trim with a black and white yin-yang on the chest with elbow length sleeves. Sighing she tossed her wet dress into the clothes basket, then went to the couch and did the same with Wufei's shirt, then she noticed that he must still be wearing his pants, for he had never removed them. Sighing with indecision, she finally walked over to the end of the bed and lifted the blanket. He couldn't sleep in the wet pants, he had already lost alot of blood, and if he caught a cold, then who knows how he would manage. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to let anything happen to him, now that she had just gotten him back. Moving aside the blanket, but careful not to disturb the part that was near his arm, she undid the tie on his pants and carefully slid them off, and quickly rolled the blanket over him again. Throwing the pants into the laundry, she sat on the couch, not able to sleep, but not having anything to do in or out of the room.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Tsun-san smiled a smug self satisfied smile as she heard the conversation within. It seemed to her that her 'encouragements' had worked, and soon she would have a grandchild. She knew the two of them would eventually come together, but with their issues, she wasn't sure that they would ever get around to having children during her lifetime. She considered being more lenient on them, considering that they had each only just descovered that the other was alive again, but she was an old lady, and didn't know if she was going to last many more years, she had seen some of her friends just go from fine to a deathbed in a matter of months, and feared not seeing the next generation of children more than the actual aspect of death itself.  
  
*Looks like I got my wish* she thought contented, left her spot by Wufei and Meiran's door and went to sleep in her own bed. 


	17. Solitary Dragon

Wufei woke and looked around. He felt a bit dazed and there was a numb pain in his arm. Looking over, he noted the pile of blankets supporting his bandaged arm. Farther over was his wife, curled up on the couch as though she had fallen asleep watching him. He sat up and felt a dizzying vertigo pass over him. Lying back down, he thought he was mistaken, but then knew with certainty that he was in nothing but his underwear. He recalled that he had come into the house when they had returned home and quickly gone up to his room to check the wound, and had found nothing wrong with the bone when Meiran had come in with a first aid kit. He had lost sufficient blood by then to need help with the simple task of dressing the wound before he lost any more blood. She had been upset when he berated himself for getting such a meaningless wound in the first place, and had brought him to the bed. He had been dizzy and angry with himself for getting the injury, and he had yelled at her. It seemed so meaningless now, but at the time, he couldn't stand to have her helping him. What made it so hard to accept her help?  
  
Sitting up slowly, he quietly made his way to the end of the bed and opened his closet, pulled out a pair of jeans and a black tanktop. Dressing himself was difficult, especially when he was also trying not to wake Meiran, after all, he had been very much less than grateful for her help last night, and she had still stayed up to watch him and make sure he was ok. Finally, he opened the door and quietly made his way down to the kitchen. In the spur of a moment of remorse and uncertainty of how to make up, he got out some pots and pans, along with eggs, rice, bacon, ham, sausages, and bread, and started on a deluxe breakfast.  
  
Nearly an hour later, Meiran decended the stairs to wonderful kitchen smells, and wondered why Tsun-san was up so early. On the mornings after her nights out, she was usually an hour or two later in waking up than usual. Rounding the corner at the bottom of the stairs, she was shocked to see Wufei carrying a plate of scrambled and sunny side up eggs, and another of french toast to the table. He smiled up at her as she came to stand infront of him. Quickly she took the plates and set them on the table.  
  
"What do you think you're doing!?!" She demanded. He was injured, and chose that time to go out of his way to do things. She didn't think she would ever understand men.  
  
"I was making you some special breakfast. I acted so badly last night, I wanted to repay you." Wufei replied, returning with plate full of rice.  
  
"Isn't that just so nice!" Tsun-san cried from the stairs, giving the two youths a large grin. She was sure now, she was just so happy for the two of them and for herself that she couldn't take the grin off her face.  
  
Meiran raised an eyebrow at the woman. Usually there would have been a barage of questions as to the reasons behind the elaborate breakfast. So, either her adoptive mother knew, or thought she knew the reason, or this was a very convincing imposter.  
  
"Either way, he's made it, so he's done enough, I'm taking the rest in myself." Meiran said, going around the table and heading for the kitchen. "You," She said, pointing at Wufei, "Sit, rest!" She ordered.  
  
Tsun-san beat her to it. She wasn't going to risk any strain on her daugher if there was even a possibility that she could be holding her grandchild. "No dear, you and Wufei sit, I'll go and get the rest! Eat up!" She said, and walked into the kitchen. Meiran raised a suspicious eyebrow, what was her mother up to? Wufei just seemed to be listening to her order, not admitting that his elbow had started to hurt slightly again during the making of breakfast. Filling a plate, he started to eat. Meiran followed suit, still wondering on her mother's strange behavior.  
  
"How's your elbow?" Meiran asked, filling the silent void that had developed from her mother's strange behavior, and Wufei's.  
  
"It's fine, thank you." He responded. Meiran wondered if there was a bit more than a plesantry to his thank you, for he rarely tolerated let alone used plesantrys.  
  
"Did you sleep ok?" She asked, and wondered if maybe she had been too hard in her order to not exert himself. He had been honestly trying to make up for his behavior the night before, but that had been majorly from the blood loss. Still, she couldn't let him get worse, or sick when he had the blood to regain to build his strength again.  
  
"Yes thanks." He said just before taking a bite of french toast. The two returned to eating silently.  
  
Tsun-san came in to find the couple doing nothing but putting food in thier mouths mechanically and staring into empty space. She thought that it was strange behavior, but she was constantly surprized by the two of them, and took it in stride.  
  
"What are you two doing today?" she asked, thinking they might want to go out shopping.  
  
"I'm going to" Wufei began, but was cut off by Meiran.  
  
"We're staying in, last night was too much, and I think we need to rest." She said, stressing the we each time, broking no argument from Wufei, knowing he would have said he was going out or something.  
  
Tsun-san raised an eyebrow. Last night was too much? That was a startling revelation, usually she wouldn't have volunteered that type of information. This was completely unlike Meiran, usually she couldn't have stood for being couped up. *The mood-swings must be starting already...*  
  
Meiran glared at Wufei, who just resigned himself to being watched over until his wound was healed. He hated how stubborn she could be sometimes. Finishing his breakfast, he picked up his dishes, went to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher. Meiran did the same a few minutes later.  
  
"Are you going to be much longer?" Wufei asked Tsun-san when he came back out to the dinning room.  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"I was going to clear the table." He responded, and as soon as he did, Meiran was glaring at him again.  
  
"You are not! We're going upstairs right now and you're going to rest." She said harshly.  
  
"Then how do you expect the table to be cleared?" He retorted. He could only stand being ordered around so much.  
  
"Don't worry kids, I'll clear the table. You just go on up and have some time together." Tsun-san broke in and said, smiling so insufferably that Wufei and Meiran both looked at her with suspicion.  
  
"Fine!" Meiran turned and headed for the stairs.  
  
"You make sure that she gets lots of rest now." Tsun-san wispered to Wufei just as he started to follow.  
  
Wufei looked back at the old woman and wondered if she was becoming senile.  
  
"Wufei, come on!!!" Meiran hollared from the stairs.  
  
"I'm comming already!!!" He yelled back, forgeting the strange comment for the time. He had other problems. 


	18. Solitary Dragon

It was well past dark and Meiran was sitting on the couch as she had for the last few nights just watching her husband sleep. He had slept quite peacefully the last while, but she wasn't taking any risks that he would move durring the night and irritate the wound, making it start to bleed all over again. The second day of his confinement, Meiran had returned from getting their lunch to find him trying to practice with his sword. He was yelled at for it. He had yelled back. Then he had agreed to not try using his arm for such exercise for at least a week.  
  
Now that the week was almost up, Meiran was worried, but the wound did seem to be closing well on it's own. She knew he would want to get working on it as soon as she would allow him to, or even sooner, but she wanted to make sure that there was no lasting damage, and that he didn't develop any side effects from having such a large open wound. She had finally gotten out of him that the opponent he'd been fighting had been wearing brass knuckles, and Meiran didn't have a clue what kind of infection he could have developed from those things.  
  
Sighing she stood and tried to wipe the sleepyness from her eyes. It was well after midnight, and although she had been enforcing a rule that he get a large amount of sleep, she had been getting that much less from worry and like tonight and all the ones before it, staying up and watching him. Sighing with tiredness, she walked to the door and exited the room. *He'll be fine for a few minutes* her mind rationalized as she walked down the hall heading for the stairs.  
  
Entering the kitchen with the sleep clouded thought of getting some juice to stay awake, she neglected to turn on any lights and headed instictively for the location of the fridge. Pulling open the door, she squinted against the light and reached in and blindly grabbed a bottle. Taking a glass out of the cupboard, she noted that the bottle of juice she held was almost empty and seemed oddly shaped.  
  
Sitting down at the table she pulled out the stopper, not wondering why a juice bottle would have a stopper, and poured what was left of the liquid into the glass before her. She set the bottle down and lifted the glass to her lips.  
  
Taking a large gulp, she almost gagged. It was very sour, and had a slight tartness to it. Resolving that it was the last of the stuff, and she shouldn't let it go to waste, she downed the rest of the fruit derived drink, and stood. As she headed for the stairs, she noted that it hadn't been that bad, just a shock when she had been expecting sweet fruit juice. Climbing the stairs, she found it hard to put one foot in front of the other, and felt like sitting down again. As soon as she got back to their room again, she collapsed onto the couch and fell instantly to sleep.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei woke and noted that once again, his wife had fallen asleep on the couch, although this morning it looked as though she had been thrown onto it. Clenching and unclenching his fist, he noted that the muscles in his arm were fine and he could hardly feel the gash running up his forearm anymore. He looked to the clock. It was only eight in the morning. Briskly moving the blankets aside, he got out of bed and quietly changed. He wondered how long Meiran had stayed up watching him this time. He knew she was worried about him, but if she wasn't careful, she was going to overtax herself and then she would be the one needing care. He thought back a few months to when she had gotten sick, and wondered if they would always overwork their own limits when the other needed care. He hoped feverently that he wouldn't be her downfall.  
  
Decending the stairs, he greeted Tsun-san who for all her years, still managed to be the first one up.  
  
"Wufei, you didn't see a bottle of fruit wine in the fridge last night, did you? I had it in here after I brought it up from the cellar, and was going to have some later today, but it seems to have disappeared." Tsun- san peeked up from behind the fridge door and questioned.  
  
"No, I haven't. Do you know how late Meiran was up last night?" He asked, wondering if the old woman was worried about her adoptive daughter, or if she even noticed.  
  
"No, how late?" The woman asked, poking back into the fridge as she checked restlessness off her list of signs.  
  
"I don't know, just late. You haven't noticed anything?" He asked, sitting down at the table and taking an apple from the bowl in the center of the table.  
  
"Nothing." She answered innocently. She straightened and shut the door just as Meiran stomped heavily down the stairs. She was rubbing her head and looked as though she had a severe headache.  
  
"What's wrong?" Wufei asked, thinking that she'd finally reached her limit, and her lack of sleep for concern over him was taking it's toll on her health.  
  
"I feel like hell, I have a splitting headache, and my stomach is trying the jump out." She responded bitterly as she took a seat at the table. Resting her head on her arm, she reached out with the other and blindly picked a fruit from the bowl. Returning with the fruit, she looked up and saw she had grabbed a grapefruit. She already had a sour taste in her mouth, and thought faintly that it had something to do with something she'd had to drink the night before, and didn't feel like something sour. But she already had the grapefruit, so, she stood and walked to the kitchen. Grabbing a small bowl, a knife, a spoon, and the dish of sugar, she returned to the table and cut the fruit in half, and proceeded to scoop sugar onto the open halves.  
  
Wufei looked over and noted her strange dish. Meiran rarely ate grapefruit, called them messy, and only when something was cooked with it did she eat sugar. He wondered if she was feeling ok. Tsun-san noted the same thing, but assumed that she had also entered the stage of craving strage foods, so she didn't question the actions.  
  
Meiran scooped the peices of fruit into her mouth without comment or expression. She wanted her headache to go away, but wasn't going to pause her life for a head pain.  
  
Wufei finished his apple and accended the stairs, wishing Meiran would allow him to do something other than sit in the house and read. He had always appreciated books, but after almost a week of doing nothing but read, he was ready to tear any books he found into small peices and burn them.  
  
Tsun-san walked to the stairs and climbed them on her way to her room. She was going out shopping, figuring that Meiran should have a variety of foods to pick from if she was going to be trying new tastes, and her purse was in her room.  
  
Seconds later Meiran finished her grapefruit and felt like just brushing all the tastes out of her mouth. Climbing the stairs, she entered the bathroom, and just as she was reaching for her toothbrush, her stomach convulsed, and she threw up into the sink.  
  
Tsun-san exited her room just as Meiran threw up and smiled to herself. *Morning sickness...* Quietly she walked towards the stairs and wondered if it would be a girl or a boy.  
  
Meiran grimaced and rinsed the sink thoroughly, then washed her face and rinsed her mouth. Finally she got to the task of brushing her teeth and went to their room feeling a bit better.  
  
Wufei looked up as she entered and smiled slightly. She looked as though she'd been sick. "What book should I re-read today?" He joked, trying his best to ease her seeming black mood. She glared at him and went to her closet.  
  
"We're going out today." She said simply while pulling out a pair of jeans and a red 3/4 sleeve shirt with a dipped square front. Wufei looked at her in surprize. He had expected another day of inprisonment, especially if she was feeling bad, this was a shock. He became even more concerned for her, she was acting so stragely, he wondered if she didn't feel feverish.  
  
"Grab some clothes for going out, the weather's nice and sunny." She said, leaving the room and going to the bathroom to change. She would have rather kept him in for a while longer, but she knew she couldn't leave him alone, or there was even more probability of him hurting himself, but she had such a headache, and knew that she needed to get out some, the air in the house was becoming stiffling. That meant she had to go out and he had to come with her.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei looked around the park in slight awe. He knew that China had such elaborate gardens, but to actually be in one was slightly overwhelming. Meiran watched him and smiled in spite of her headache, she had been to the public parks in Beijing before, but she had not thought to take Wufei to them before.  
  
Finding a bench, Wufei sat and just stared all around at the wonderful gardens surrounding him. Meiran took a seat beside him and closed her eyes to relax and listen to the bird songs filling the air.  
  
The path that traced many different routes through the garden was just like the rest of the garden, covered in short green grass, but with many small rounded stones that made a clear but seemingly natural path. A few man made springs and rock formations were set seemingly randomly about the park. Many trees were aranged in cascading lines, simple yet beautiful. One especially nice spot was a small marsh like area which was one of the natural areas, modified to fit the garden, with a large weeping willow in the center, and large round boulders forming a path over the water to be able to get closer to the tree. Many rock gardens also graced the grounds, and the beautiful pattrerns traced in sand stood in many open glades. One or two hills were found in the park, many with bare hilltops, graced by cherry or apple trees with full pink and white blossoms.  
  
Breathing in deep and catching the sent of the blossoming trees on the breeze Wufei looked over at Meiran and noted with concern and a bit of a soft smile at the sight that she had fallen asleep beside him. Touching her shoulder softly, he tried to wake her. Snapping awake, Meiran sat up quickly, and her head told her immediately that it was a very bad idea.  
  
Clutching her head in her hands, she bent over and rested her elbows on her knees. Wufei grew more concerned.  
  
"Are you ok Meiran? You don't seem to well today."  
  
"I'm just fine, I have a headache, that's all." she responded quickly.  
  
"Do you want to go home? You could rest." he persisted.  
  
"I said I'm fine, I don't want to go home, I need to be out of that house for a while."  
  
Wufei looked around and sighed. He didn't mind the place or the company, but if Meiran wasn't feeling well, he wanted to help her get better as soon as she could. Then he recalled that that was the same reason he had been stuck in the house reading books all day for the last week.  
  
"We could always walk around the park for the day." he finallly spoke, realizing that the outing was going to do them both good. Meiran just nodded her head and gave him a slight sideways smile, her mood improving visibly.  
  
"I would like that." She said softly.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Tsun-san paced the floor with worry. She'd returned from shopping and Wufei and Meiran were both gone with no notice or anything. What if they were in trouble? What if they got into a fight? Meiran certainly couldn't be fighting in her condition.  
  
Her worrying was interupted by the door opening. Wufei walked in supporting Meiran.  
  
"What happened to her!?!" Tsun-san cried and ran towards the pair.  
  
Meiran's head snapped up and she glared at her mother.  
  
"Nothing's wrong with her." Wufei said, shutting the door. "We spent the day at the public gardens, and she's tired."  
  
Tsun-san heaved a sigh of relief as the two slipped off their shoes and accended the stairs. She didn't want to worry, and usually wouldn't have, knowing the two as she did, but in Meiran's condition, she had reason to be concerned, and was determined to avoid any problems.  
  
Upstairs in their room, Wufei eased Meiran onto the couch and wondered how to get the both of them ready for bed. Deciding that he should change first, he went to his closet and changed into his own bedclothes. Turning to ask Meiran what she would like to wear he sighed and almost laughed when he saw her asleep where he had left her. Walking over to her closet, he opened the door and pulled out a knee length cotton gown with red dragons all over it. Returning to the couch, he lay the gown over the arm and sat Meiran up. Changing his mind, he lay her down again and undid her jeans. She didn't even stir. Wufei wondered if she'd slept at all the last week. Carefully he managed to slide the jeans off, then pulled the shirt carefully over her head. Leaning her against the back of the couch, he meneuvered the open bottom of the gown over her head. He had a bit of a problem getting her arms into the sleeves, but eventually got it on her properly.  
  
Carefully he lifted his sleeping wife and carried her towards the bed. He set her down softly, and on the inside, he would take the outside, because he could almost guarentee that he would awaken first. Walking over and turning off the light, he lifted his arm and clenched his fist as he returned to the bed. *I hope I can take the bandage off tomorrow and start using this arm again, it's going to get weak.* He thought, laying down and pulling the covers over the two of them. Looking over at Meiran, asleep in the moonlight streaming in through the window he noted how peaceful and beautiful she was, and thanked every power he knew that he had been able to find her again. Reaching over he brushed the bangs that had fallen across her face away. She mumbled inaudiably and curled into the fetal possion, shivering slightly. Wufei hadn't noticed, but now that he thought about it, their room wasn't all that warm. Moving over towards her, he lifted his closer arm and put it around her, sharing his body warmth with her. Much to his surprize she cuddled against him and rested her head against his side just below his shoulder, her arm sprawled over his chest. Wondering if that was how they had woken up together that first morning, he didn't complain, and fell asleep holding her. 


	19. Solitary Dragon

Slamming the cabinet door Meiran mumbled angrily as she tried to find something suitable to make for supper. She had noticed strange foods appearing in place of their normal grocceries the last few months, and now there was absolutely nothing normal to eat in their entire house.  
  
"Mother is never getting the grocceries again!" She vowed to herself as she stalked through the kitchen and finally resolved to make what she could with the food that was available.  
  
From the fridge she removed some celery, carrots, broccoli, califlower, lettuce, onion and peppers. In the freezer she removed some frozen chicken and hamburger, glared at it, and brought it all to the kitchen counter. Chopping all the vegetables, she got out the wok and started it simmering, adding some oil and the vegetables. Cutting the frozen chicken into small peices, she slid them all into the wok as well. Pouring a small cup of water into the wok, she added some egg noodles and stirred them until the water burned off. Turning the heat up slightly, she proceeded to mince the ground beef and sprinkle it into the wok with everything else. Turning it back down to simmer, she added some soy sauce and stirred everything together. Looking at it dubiously she scouped up a small bite and tested her new recepie with great caution. She was surprized to find that it was actually edible.  
  
Tsun-san came down the stairs to an interesting smell comming from the kitchen. She had observed that lately Meiran had taken full advantage of their new foods and was making many new and not so bad recepies up as she went along. Even though Tsun-san could see all the proper signs, she was becoming concerned, for Meiran's baby didn't seem to be growing. She wondered if her daughter was just covering it up very well, but couldn't do anything more, for when she had asked politely if she had felt any extra weight lately, she had merely received a glare and a growl. She had to content herself thinking that Meiran knew how to handle herself as well during this period as in any other time in her life.  
  
Walking into the kitchen she peeked into the wok and tried to figure out what was in the dish before her. She saw many different vegetables, noodles, and chicken, but couldn't figure out what the small brown peices everywhere were. Sticking her finger in to try the concoction, she received a smack on the hand from Meiran, holding a wodden laddle.  
  
"I't almost supper time," She said angrily. "Wait until we sit down to eat."  
  
"Fine, I'll go and tell Wufei it's ready then."  
  
Wufei heard a knock on the door and looked up to see the old lady coming in.  
  
"What is it?" He asked testily. The old woman had really been getting on his nerves the last few months, always pestering him about Meiran and if he'd noticed anything or if she was feeling ok when she was just fine. He recalled that he had asked her if she'd noticed anything when Meiran had been overdoing herself in her care for him while he had been recovering from a long gash on his forarm from a fight with a thug wearing brass knuckles. Now only a pale scar told of the fight, and he wondered if there was something the matter with Meiran that he was missing and Tsun-san alone was noticing.  
  
"Meiran made supper, it's ready." She responded and left again.  
  
Wufei set down his book and stood up from the window seat. Was Meiran sick and he was missing it? No, he would certainly notice if she was sick. But now that he thought about it, her behavior since the fight hadn't exactly been normal. She had been very irritable and had taken to cooking strange foods. He wondered what it could mean.  
  
Walking down the stairs he could smell the dinner. It didn't smell bad, just different from what he was used to.  
  
Meiran looked up as Wufei came down the stairs and took a seat at the table. He looked slightly concerned, and she reiterated her vow to not let her mother ever go groccery shopping again. She carried the plates into the dinning room, set one before Tsun-san, one infront of Wufei, and one infront of herself as she sat down.  
  
"Well?" She said impatiently as she raised a mouthful to her mouth and found the other two were just staring at her. As soon as they were noticed not eating, they both immediately scooped some into their mouths. She watched with satisfaction as they seemed to not die from eating the food, and took a bite of her own.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Wufei looked up when Tsun-san tapped him on the shoulder and was glancing around nervously.  
  
"What now onna?" He asked, irritation evident in his voice.  
  
"Nothing, just take care around Meiran, she's delicate right now."  
  
"What are you talking about?" He asked, worry forming a knot in his gut. He hadn't wanted to beleive that anything was wrong, but when he'd thought about it, her behavior had been extremely irratic and more sensitive than even Meiran usually was.  
  
"Her condition right now is delicate, I suggest you try and be more sensitive and understanding for her right now. I can't be sure, but I think she may want your support right now, even if she doens't ask for it." The old lady said, "And maybe you should take her to the doctor."  
  
"What does a doctor..." He started to ask, when realization hit him. Meiran had been revived from death, perhaps there were side effects from that procedure that came upon her periodically. That would explain the need for the different foods, the extreme irritation, and the touchyness. She would never want to admit that she needed his help for something she would want to handle herself.  
  
"But she can't see Dr. O, he's gone, along with the other doctors." Wufei said, looking up with concern for his wife plain in his eyes.  
  
"She doesn't need him in particular, the local doctor can do her checkups just as well." Tsun-san commented, then spotted Meiran comming out of the kitchen and picked up her plate and brought it to the kitchen.  
  
Worry put a knot in his brow that he couldn't get rid of, and Wufei worried that Meiran would become even more irritated, and worsen her condition if she thought he was worried for her, or if she even knew he now knew about it.  
  
"What?" Meiran asked irritably as she continued to clear the table and saw Wufei staring at her with concern over who knows what. She was really getting annoyed with people being fussy and acting wierd around her. First her mother is acting strange and getting on her nerves more than usual, setting her on edge all the time, stressing her out in the proccess. Now Wufei seemd to be picking it up. She wouldn't stand for much more of it.  
  
"Are you ok? You've been acting strange the last few months." Wufei asked.  
  
"I'm perfectly fine, it's you two who are acting strange, and it's not helping me to act my usual self at all, if Tsun-san would just stop being such a busybody maybe I could relax without hearing 'Are you ok?' every five minutes! I'd say that's what's wrong!!!" She growled at him.  
  
"We're just worried!" he retorted and took his plate to the kitchen. Meiran glared after him.  
  
"There is nothing wrong with her other than being stressed out Onna! I should have learned long ago never to listen to you!" Wufei said angrily as he entered the kitchen. "She has no condition!"  
  
Tsun-san looked back at him and decided to ignore his anger, he most likely didn't know from his reaction. Leave it to the man to be the last one to realize.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ______  
  
Later in the evening, while Meiran was in their room changing for bed, Wufei came out of the bathroom to see Tsun-san heading for him. He groaned as he anticipated the new conspiracy he was going to hear as to why Meiran was being so strange lately. He could completely understand why now that he realized how Tsun-san had been acting the last few months.  
  
"What do you want Onna?" He asked as she stopped and was about to speak.  
  
"I guess that you haven't figured it out yet? I suppose since she doesn't look it it's easy to miss for you." The old woman said.  
  
"There is nothing to figure out, she's fine, a bit irritable, but fine!" He almost yelled at her.  
  
"I'll list off the symptoms and then you figure it out for yourself." Tsun-san said, wanting the young man to know, but not willing to just tell him.  
  
"There are no symptoms because she isn't sick!" Wufei retorted as she started her list.  
  
"One, she's more irritable than usual, two, she's eating strange foods, three, she's been sick in the morning at least once, four, she went through a period of restlessness..."  
  
Wufei listened, but just because he had to, not really caring what her list was pretaining to, and wishing he could escape and get to bed. "So?" He said annoyed, interupting her.  
  
Tsun-san glared. This was one of the few things she was getting to have fun with, but he was ruining it for her. "Fine, if you haven't already figured it out, Meiran is pregnant." She said, and haughtily swept into her room.  
  
Wufei stood in the hall thunderstruck. He couldn't bring himself to accept what his ears had just told him he'd heard. How could Meiran be pregnant? When had it happened? Angrily stalking back to the bedroom he shared with her, he intended to find out exactly how his wife had gotten pregnant without him knowing about it, or having anything to do with it. 


	20. Solitary Dragon

Meiran looked up as the door shut quietly. Wufei had just come in, but he looked extremely mad over something.  
  
"What's the matter? Did Tsun-san start playing her 'harmless pranks' again?" she asked, trying to figure out the cause of his anger, it was so bad that it almost flowed off him in visible waves. He looked up at her, and the pain and anger in his eyes was so visible that she was taken by surprize. What could have cause such a reaction in him?  
  
She walked towards him and was about to lay a comforting hand on his arm when he jerked away as though she would burn him. She looked up slightly hurt and confused.  
  
"What is wrong!?!" She demanded. As she looked at him the saddness in his eyes gave way to the anger.  
  
"You know perfectly well what is wrong, you just didn't expect me to find out!" He said, his voice comming out in a raspy strangled growl. Meiran was shocked, he was being so venomous, and yet he seemed to be hurt more than he could express. She wondered what secret she could have that would cause such a raw and volitile reaction.  
  
"I can't think of what you could be refering to, what is it?!" she asked, it was hurting her that he felt so strongly about something she seemingly did, said, or knew about.  
  
He laughed bitterly, his shoulders shaking slightly, but not from the laughter. "I thought we were getting along, that you even loved me as I did you, and then I find out about this!" He cried, throwing his arms into the air in an anger filled explosive gesture.  
  
Meiran started to feel anger building below her saddness and confusion. He was mad, and now accusing her of things that he wouldn't even explain. "I do love you! I didn't give up hope that you would come back, that you weren't really dead even after I was told that you were, I couldn't give up my hope for you, because I never got to tell you that I did love you, that I didn't think you were weak! I don't know what has you so mad, but if you would explain, then maybe I would be able to figure out what it is and tell you about whatever it is that has you so upset!" She yelled back.  
  
"I can't believe that you can say that to my face! Do you have no shame Onna!?! Your mother seems to think that I had something to do with it, but that I didn't know. She was right that I didn't know, and now that I do, I want an explination!!!"  
  
"If I knew what to explain I would gladly do so!!!"  
  
"Explain how you got pregnant!!!"  
  
Both froze. Wufei had actually said it, he hadn't wanted to give substance to Tsun-san's claims by admiting it with his own words, but now that he had, he believed it even less. Meiran couldn't believe her ears. Get pregnant? Indeed, she wondered how someone could even believe she had, let alone how her own husband could believe it.  
  
"There is nothing to explain, because I certainly am not pregnant." Meiran finally managed to say once she was able to form words again. "I don't know how you could even utter those words. We were to remain chaste until we consumated our marriage, and we never did so, I don't know about you, but I kept that vow, I have never, so I don't know how you can stand there and accuse me of such a thing as being pregnant!"  
  
Although her words were deathly quiet, Wufei felt as though he had been hit in the face with them. He had been so stupid, he had let that senile old woman trick him again.  
  
"Meiran I..." He tried to explain, but any words he uttered drew a glare and a look of utter hatred from his wife, who he knew he should have trusted enough to realize what a fool he was being before he uttered a word about it to begin with.  
  
Furious, Meiran stalked to the bed and lay down. Facing the wall, she pulled up the covers and proceeded to ignore Wufei. How dare he accuse her of such a thing. What could have brought him to such a rediculous conclusion.  
  
Wufei collapsed in upon himself. He had just effectively alienated his wife from him for the remainder of their lifetimes. He dragged himself to the couch and sagged into it. Leaning forward, he set his head in his hands and stared at the floor, mentally thrashing himself for doing such a thing. Looking up at Meiran's stiff form in the bed, he knew she wasn't sleeping, and knew that even if it wouldn't redeem him, if anything ever could, she should know the truth. He knew what harm misconceptions could do, more poignently now that ever.  
  
"Meiran...gods I'm so sorry. I didn't know what to believe when Tsun- san came up and told me that she knew you were pregnant. She seemed to be so certain, and even had a list of symptoms of you being pregnant. I'm such an idiot, I never should have distrusted you, but just the thought of something like that, I didn't think anything could hurt so much." He watched her as he spoke, she didn't move at all.  
  
Meiran listen silently as tears trickled down her face. She felt an equal pain, to know that the one she loved could think of her doing such a thing, it hurt as much as it hurt him thinking she could have done it. She felt the bed move, and his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Meiran, please, I am sorry, at least believe that even if you can't forgive my stupidity." She heard him say. Staring at the wall, she tried to controle the torent threatening to overflow, but his voice, so full of the same pain that she felt triggered it, and she was racked with sobs.  
  
Wufei pulled her to him and rocked her as she cried out her sorrows, some of his own tears joining the flow. He found himself murmuring to her as he wiped away her tears. He felt the urge to kiss her, and with such ragged emotions being released, he didn't stop himself. Cupping her chin in his hand, he turned her face up to him and kissed each tear that fell.  
  
Meiran had about as much controle of her emotions, and opened her eyes as he tilted her face towards him. With an instict more natural that anything she knew, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself up to his soft kisses. Slowly her tears stopped flowing, and when she had no more for him to kiss away, she pulled him close to her and pressed her lips to his.  
  
Wufei responded with a firey need that he didn't know he'd had. No thought penetrated the emotion coursing through him as he leaned back and lay Meiran down beside him. Finally acknowledging the desire he'd held for her for so long, he couldn't hold it back and suddenly wanted to know every part of her at once. He parted his lips and explored with his tongue as she parted her lips to allow him to.  
  
His fingertips tingled as he ran them down her side, feeling the fabric of one of the silk nightdresses like the one she'd worn on the first night. He broke their kiss and place his kisses elsewhere. He lined her jaw and her neck with them, then moved down to her shoulders and collar bone, the thin straps of the dress getting pushed aside as he went. As the kisses lined her left shoulder, Meiran felt for the tie that held his hair back and gently removed it. Wufei raised his head to look at her as his hair fell loose around his face, then kissed her lips again as she moved her hands to undo the buttons of his nightshirt. Seconds later it was disguarded on the floor beside the bed.  
  
Sliding his hand down farther her ran it along her leg and she bent her knee up and wraped her leg around his. As he started to move his hand up her side again, moving up under the edge of the dress, he moved away from her for a moment and looked into her eyes.  
  
"Are you sure?" He asked in a voice ragged with desire, using his moment of clarity to make sure she wouldn't regret what they were doing when the sun rose. She gave no verbal answer, but placed her hand on his and guided it upward, her eyes making clear to him her reply, and her soft smile assuring him she felt it was right. He slid the dress all the way up and off over her head. It landed on the floor beside his shirt.  
  
A gasp excaped Meiran's lips as Wufei cupped her firm round breasts and gently massaged them with hands she hadn't known could be so gentle. Shivers of excitement and pleasure coursed over her as he took one then the other and gently stroked them as he placed kisses all over her neck, shoulders and exposed chest. She brought her hands to his waist and started to slide the shorts down. Leaving her soft skin for a moment, Wufei sat up and removed the restricting peice of cloth himself. Leaning back over above her, he worked his way back up, leaving a row of kisses from her stomach to her neck.  
  
Feeling expectation and desire welling up from a place deep inside, Meiran reveled in his kisses and felt his erection press against her side as he lay back down against her. Turning the tables, she reached down and gently stroked the his hardness, taking it in her hands and softly caressing it up and down. Wufei caught his breath as he felt her hands touching him just right, sending waves of excitement through him. He stoped moving, her hands immobilizing him momentarily. Sliding her hands away, she slid them up his sides and around his neck to pull him into a passion filled kiss.  
  
Slowly, he ran one hand down her side, then back up along the inside of her thigh. Spreding her legs apart he found her opening and gently worked the sensitive skin. Meiran arched her back and pushed against him, her breath came in ragged gasps, but his actions induced such blissful arousal that she thought she would cry out in pain if he stopped. He moved himself over her and she looked up as he prepared to enter her. Taking him in her hands, she gently guided him to her opening.  
  
She gasped as he entered, and at first Wufei was concerned that he might hurt her, but as he slid in she arched up to meet him. He felt a barrier break within her, and knew that their virginity was lost, but also that it had been done the right way, through love, not the requierments of an arranged clan marriage.  
  
Carefully he moved against her, sliding all the way in, then began moving out. Gasping with pleasure, the two slid together again. Moving faster, they developed a rhythm, rocking in and out, building the waves of feeling higher and higher from their mutual center, until finally they crested, and cried out in release.  
  
The two lay on the bed not moving, sweat covered their forms as they panted from the exertion although the mere experience would have left them gasping on it's own. Meiran looked down and smiled as Wufei lay on top of her, and still inside of her, starting to breath normally again. Slowly he raised himself and slid out. She almost felt regret, he filled her, and seemed to be made to fit her perfectly, and it was a bit sad for them to have to move apart.  
  
He lay down against her side, and she cuddled close and felt his arm wrap around her. Pulling the blanket up over them, Meiran smiled and fell asleep in her husband's embrace. 


End file.
